Holy Matrimony, Batman!
by JayCee08
Summary: Sequel to Christmas Eve Visitor and Starting Our Lives Together. Steph and Ranger get ready for their wedding. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor **and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 1  
****Engagement Announcement**

With the baptism out of the way and our engagement official, we started to make plans for the wedding. We discussed and argued and finally compromised that September looked like a good month to get married. Ricky would be a year old. It would be after his first birthday. I wanted a big party for him. I didn't want this wedding to over shadow his big day. The weather in September was still nice but not sweltering. I would have liked to have an October wedding but Ranger didn't want a Halloween theme. We both said that November and December were not good choices because of the holidays and it would be cold and sloppy. The only problem with having the wedding in September was that school would be back in session. We wanted Julie to be there but didn't want her to miss a lot of school. We would have to work something out.

We decided to get married at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick. It seemed to have worked well for everyone for the baptism. We spoke with Father John. He seemed happy that we were getting married and not living in sin and that our son would now be legitimate. We needed to attend marriage classes and there was a slight problem with both of us having been divorced. With a huge donation to the church that problem became nonexistent.

We picked The Hyatt Regency Hotel for the reception. Ranger would have guards at the entrance and everyone would have to show their invitations to get in. It offered rooms for the guest to stay at a reduced rate. As well as a room for the bride and groom although we agreed that we were not going to stay at the same hotel as our families.

We deliberated on our attendants. We came to a conclusion that not asking family members to be part of the wedding was in our best interest. So, Tank and Lula would be our best man and maid of honor. Bobby and Lester would be groomsmen and Mary Lou and Connie would be bridesmaids. Julie can be a junior bridesmaid. She is too old to be a flower girl. We also agreed on not having a flower girl or ring bearer. It would be too hard to pick between our nieces and his nephews. Of course little Ricky is too little but will be in a miniature tux like his dad.

We got the wedding plans pretty much under control, so my mother will not have as much of an input. I have already found the dresses I want. My dress will be a simple A-line style dress with some beading in the bodice. The train is small and is beaded as well. I decide not to have a veil that covers my face. I want everyone to see how happy I am when I walk down the aisle to my waiting husband-to-be. So, the veil just hangs at the back of my head.

The bridesmaids' dresses are going to be long strapless black satin dress with a side pleat in white satin with a matching shawl. One side is black, and the other side is white. There is beading on the bodice. Black shoes will complete the look. The tuxes will be black with white shirts with black buttons. I didn't know what Julie's dress would look like yet. I don't think my mother is going to like the color I have chosen. But they represent Ranger and me and if she doesn't like it, so be it.

We are having dinner at my parents tonight to tell them of our wedding plans. Tomorrow morning both Ranger and I will ask the guys at the RangeMan morning meeting. Then we will go to the bond office. I will ask Mary Lou to meet us there. We will ask them to be part of the wedding party. We will have dinner with his parent's tomorrow night.

________________

That just leaves Joe. I really haven't talked to him since I became pregnant with Ricky. He knew I was seeing Ranger and that we decided to live together. I saw him a few times after Ranger left for his last mission and I became pregnant. I decide to meet him at his house before heading to my parents for dinner. I called Joe at work to ask if he will be home early.

I got to Joe's before he did. I still have my key so, I let Bob out. He would just bark at me from inside the house if I didn't. I played ball with him while I waited for Joe to come home. I was leaning against my new Crossfire. It wasn't warm enough yet to have the top down.

Joe arrived home. "Nice car, Cupcake" he says. "So what did this set you back?" He is obviously happy to see me unaware of what I am about to tell him.

"Thanks, it is a present from Ranger." I tell him.

Joe frowns. "Should I run the VIN to see if it is stolen?"

I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. "I happen to know that this car is not stolen. I was there to pick it out and I was there when the papers were signed. And Ranger paid for it in cash. But go ahead and run the VIN if it makes you feel better. And you'll find that it is my name."

"He paid cash? The money is probably dirty. Where does some thug like Ranger get cash to pay for a car like this?"

"Ranger happens to have a very successful business."

"He's a mercenary. He gets paid to be a thug. He has done bad things. Or are you too blind to see that?"

"O.K. so maybe he started out his business by being a paid thug. But RangeMan is a respectable company. He isn't a mercenary anymore. He is concentrating on building his security company." I started to get angry.

"Yeah, so he can provide security to unsuspecting people and then use his company to break in and steal from them."

"Do you have proof of this? Do you have records of any break ins at any of the companies and homes that RangeMan provides security for where there wasn't an apprehension?" Steam started to come out of my ears. I couldn't believe the crap Joe was saying.

"He could have paid to have someone take the rap."

"I am not going to continue this conversation."

We stood there for several minutes not looking at the other. Finally, after several minutes Joe spoke.

"So, are you two going to stay together?", he asks.

"Yes." I say quietly. "Ranger asked me to marry him." I paused. "I am so sorry Joe. I never meant to hurt you. It just wasn't working for us. I fell in love with Ranger. And I know I hurt you. I hope you can forgive me and we can still be friends?"

"It'll never last."

"What is that supposed to mean?" My anger starting to rise again.

"He is only marrying you because of your kid. Both of your track records with relationships indicate that neither of you is good with long term relationships. Look at us. We had more on and off than a light switch."

"Maybe it was because WE weren't right for each other."

"Right, and you and he are PERFECT together," he said sarcastically. "Are you going keep working at your job?"

"I will be working for RangeMan. I will be doing mostly searches, but will help wherever I am needed. I can take Ricky to work until he gets a little older. Who knows, maybe Ranger will have a daycare started on one of the floors."

"How is that son of yours? I wanted to stop by and see you, but you know how the Burg is. I didn't want rumors running around that you and I were getting back together and raising Ranger's kid."

My anger started to subside as I thought of my son. "He is terrific. I didn't think I would like being a mom, but it isn't so bad. Especially when you have people around you that can give you a hand when things get crazy. I can't imagine my life without him in it. And with Ranger back, things are starting to feel comfortable. We are both still adjusting to parenthood, but we are getting into a routine that works for us."

"I can't believe that Ranger is actually doing diaper duty."

"You're the one that wanted to settle down and have a family."

"Yeah, then why is it that you didn't want to have kids with me but you decide to get pregnant with Ranger's kid?"

"I didn't just 'decide' to get pregnant! It just happened!" I started to get angry.

"Then why didn't it 'just happen' when you and I were together?"

"I don't know. I am surprised myself. We didn't always use a condom. Even though I was on birth control, it isn't 100 percent effective. I mean look what happened."

"Yeah, well it is a good thing that you didn't get pregnant while we were together. I wouldn't know if the kid was mine or his."

"I'll have you know Joseph Morelli that I didn't cheat on you. I may have shared a few kisses with Ranger but I only slept with him once. And that was during one of our off phases." My anger starting to boil.

"You expect me to believe that? I happen to know for a fact that you two have slept together more than once. What about when Scrog kidnapped his daughter and stayed at your apartment, or when you stayed in HIS apartment when the Slayers were after you and when you were suspected for Dickie's murder? Huh? You expect me to believe that nothing happened!"

"Yeah, nothing happened! O.K. let me rephrase that. Ranger and I shared a bed during those times, so yes, I slept with him, but I only had sex with him once! Until you and I were officially over for good."

"I don't buy it!"

I bent down to rub Bob one more time. "You be a good boy." I stood up. "I don't know why I bothered to come over to tell you in person. I was trying to be nice. I was hoping that we could be friends, but I guess I was wrong."

I pull the key to his house out of my pocket. "Here. I don't think I need this any more." I said as I tossed the key at him. "And you're wrong. Ranger and I are going to make it work. Good-bye, Joe."

I turned and went to get into my car. I stopped. I needed to get in one more parting shot.

I sneered. "I would go and get checked out. Maybe you're shooting blanks. Ranger's little bullets found their target twice now and he wasn't aiming."

I got into the car and zoomed off for home without looking back. I couldn't wait to get home to Ranger and little Ricky.

**TBC Chapter 2 - Dinner At the Plums**


	2. Chapter 2

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. Sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 2  
****Dinner At The Plums**

Ranger and I pulled up in front of my parents' house. Mom and Grandma are waiting on the porch as usual. Ranger and I got out of car and walked up the path to the house. Ranger takes my hand. He is carrying Ricky in the carrier.

"Stephanie Plum, what is this that I hear that you were at Joe's house. Joe wasn't good enough for you when you were single, but he is now, now that you are engaged. . ."

"Mom. . .," I try to interrupt.

"I didn't raise you to be a slut. I expected you to be a good wife and mother someday. And what do you do? You run around with all sorts of men. You cheat on your future husband. . ."

We continued into the house. I unstrapped Ricky from the carrier and gave him to my dad to hold.

"Mom! Stop!"

Mom finally stops and takes a breath. "Mom, I went to Joe's to tell him that Carlos and I are getting married and to return his key. I didn't go into his house except to let Bob out. We stayed in his front yard. And I suppose the nosy neighbors had their noses pressed up against their windows and couldn't wait to run to the phone and let the Burg know that I was at Joe's."

"What did you talk about? You must have been there a while."

"I told him that Carlos and I were getting married. Things sort of turned ugly and we started to argue. He said that our marriage wouldn't work. That Carlos and I can't stay in a relationship." I said. Ranger put his arm around me giving me support. "He accused me of purposely getting pregnant with Carlos' child. That I didn't want to marry him and have his kids. I told him that maybe he should get checked out because he must be shooting blanks."

Ranger chuckled.

"Stephanie!" Mom cried. "I can't believe you would say something like that. I didn't raise you to talk like that!"

"He had it coming. What I probably should have done was punch him in the nose. He said I cheated on him."

"Well, didn't you?"

"Mom! I did not cheat on Joe! Carlos and I didn't start a serious relationship until after Joe and I realized that it wasn't working for us. O.K. maybe I knew I was in love with Carlos and that is why it didn't work for Joe and me. But I wasn't sleeping around on him. Don't know if I can say the same of him."

"Joe loved you! Probably still loves you!"

"But Mom, I don't love him. I love Carlos. I have been in love with Carlos for a very long time."

"Well then I guess it is a good thing that you two have finally decided to get married. Maybe it will stop all these rumors going around the Burg. It's time for dinner. Stephanie help me in the kitchen."

Ranger gave me a kiss and I went off to be the dutiful daughter and help Mom in the kitchen.

"How are the wedding plans progressing?" Mom asked.

"They are progressing fine, Mom. We decided to get married after Ricky's first birthday. We already have everything set up with the church and hall." I informed her.

"What do you mean? I would have heard if you got the church."

"Mom, we aren't getting married in Trenton. We are getting married in New Brunswick. At St. John the Baptist Church."

"New Brunswick! Why on earth would you get married there? Holy Ascension has been your church since you were a baby. You grew up there."

"Yes, Mom. I also got married to the Dick there." I retaliated. "New Brunswick is neutral territory for us. It is in between Trenton and Newark so that both families won't have to travel as far. It worked well for the baptism. We are having the reception at the Hyatt Regency. I picked out my dress and the bridesmaid dresses and the tuxes. I just need to go and order them."

"What about the flowers? And decorations? And cake? What color did you pick?"

"Mom, the colors are going to be black and white."

"Black! You can't have black at a wedding!"

"Mom, it is the color that we picked. You aren't going to change that. You can help with the flowers. I can sure use help with that. I don't know anything about flowers. I thought we can add color with the flowers. But the main colors of OUR wedding are going to be black and white." I said sternly.

"Helen, it is what Steph wants. It is their wedding. Let them do their way. You ran the show when Steph married the Dick and look how that turned out." My dad came to my defense. Both he and Ranger had entered the kitchen. I guess they heard the loud commotion.

"Oh, are you saying that her marriage ended because I did the planning?"

"No, Helen. It is just that you are always pushing Steph to do and be what you want. Let her be her own person. Let her do what she wants. She is getting married and has a son, now let her and Carlos make their own decisions."

"Well, I guess I have been put in my place. I am sorry Carlos for my out burst. Of course, this is your wedding and you should be able to plan it however you want."

"Mrs. Plum, we mean no disrespect. We want it to be our day. We want both of our families to be there and support us and join us as we celebrate the new life that we are starting together. We thought we were being respectful of everybody that we weren't picking favorites. We could have easily gotten married here in Trenton seeing that we both live here. But then it would look bad that my family would have to make the long trek from Newark. Or we could have gotten married at the church I grew up in and then made Steph's family and friends travel to Newark. So we compromised and picked somewhere in between. As far as the color goes. My signature color is black. Steph was just trying to be nice and picking something I would be comfortable with. She could have picked pink or blue or green. But she saw these dresses in the magazine and immediately said that is what she wanted. She said it looked elegant. She wants this wedding to be elegant and classy. And I told her if that is what she wanted I didn't have a problem with it." Ranger explained as he tried to calm everyone down before words were said that would be regretted later. Those were the most words I heard come from Ranger at one time.

"Oh, well, if she wants it to be an elegant wedding. Can I see what these dresses look like?" Mom said resigned.

"Sure Mom. I have pictures right here." I pulled the pictures out of my bag to show her. "This is what I want for my dress." I said as I handed her the picture.

"Oh, this is lovely. You will look stunning in this." Mom said.

"And this is what I picked for the bridesmaids." I handed her that picture. "The dress is black and this pleat here is white. The shawl is black on one side and white on the other." I explained.

"Who are you going to have in the wedding party?"

"Lula is going to be the maid of honor and Tank is going to be the best man. Mary Lou and Connie are the bridesmaids and Bobby and Lester, two of Ranger's men, as groomsmen." I said.

"What! You aren't going to have your sister?"

"Mom, Ranger and I decided we didn't want to pick favorites as far as family went. Ranger has four sisters and one brother. How would it look if I had my sister and none of his siblings in the wedding."

"What about your nieces. Surely, you are going to have a flower girl."

"No, Mom. Ranger has several nieces and nephews. We aren't going to have a flower girl or ring bearer. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Ranger's daughter Julie will be a junior bridesmaid and that is it."

"I see. Well, let me look at these pictures some more. Oh, it isn't at all what I thought it was going to look like. It is rather elegant. I like that shawl. What about gloves?"

"I hadn't thought about it. What do you suggest?"

"Either color would work, but maybe white elbow length."

"Thank you, Mom. I will check with the girls to see if they would agree to that."

"Well, dinner should be ready soon. I hope your Grandma has been keeping an eye on Ricky while we had our discussion." Mom turned to stove to check on the meal.

Ranger hugged me and kissed me.

"Thank you for defusing the bomb." I said to him.

"Babe, I just tried to let her know that we didn't want to hurt her feelings by doing this ourselves."

Dinner passed without any other blow ups. Mom seemed to get a little more excited about this wedding now that she let everything sink in. I told her as we were getting ready to leave that we were having dinner with Ranger's parents the next night. I said that I will call Ranger's mom and we can get together on picking out flowers and cake.

**TBC Chapter 3 - Doubts, Daughters and Groomsmen**


	3. Chapter 3

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. Sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please story is complete. The more reviews I get the faster the next chapter will be up.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 3  
****Doubts, Daughters and Groomsmen**

We got back to the Batcave and we both sank down on the couch. Ranger was holding Ricky. Ricky was teething again and chewing on a teething ring.

"Well, two down, three to go." I said.

"Yeah," Ranger said.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic. Are you having second thoughts?" I inquired hesitantly.

"Absolutely not! Babe, I want this, just not all the drama that is going on. Tomorrow we are going to be asking our friends and telling Julie and I know they are going to be happy for us, but I just wish that this was over and we can get on with just being us. You and me and Little Ricky. Our little family."

"I know the feeling, but at least my mom won't be running the show and planning everything to epic proportions. I can just imagine the dress she would pick out for me.

It would probably be something big and poofy with lots of ruffles and lace and tuille. And I can just imagine the color she would have picked. Probably something in the pink area. It would have been horrendous."

"How bad was your first wedding?"

"You want to see. I found my wedding album in my storage locker and I brought it with me when I moved."

I got up and went to one of the closets in the hall to pull out one of the boxes that I brought with me when I moved in over a year ago. I pulled out the album and sat down next to Ranger to look at it. I opened the cover and immediately heard him suck in his breath. There I was in this big southern belle style dress complete with a parasol.

"Babe," was all he could get out.

"I told you it was bad."

I turned the page and there was me with Val and Mary Lou wearing similar style dress only Val was wearing pink and Mary Lou was in lavender. Their dresses had off the shoulder sleeves and flowers in their hair.

As we looked at the album some more, we got to the guys. They all wore grey mourning coats and ascot ties with brocade vests that matched the girls dresses except for Dickie. His was the same grey as the jacket. We looked like Rhett and Scarlet.

"So what was your wedding to Rachel like?" I asked.

Ranger paused. He handed Ricky to me, so I placed the horrifying wedding album on the coffee table. He got up and went into his office. He came back out with a picture frame. He handed it to me and took Ricky again. I took it and looked at it. It was just the two of them. Ranger in his Army dress uniform and Rachel wearing a long white dress, not a wedding dress. You could see a small bump that indicated that she was pregnant.

I stroked the frame slowly. "You didn't love her, did you?" I asked softly.

"No." He replied.

"You just married her because she was pregnant." I said.

He took my hand and turned me to face him. "Babe, I know where you are going with this, so stop it." He said. "I was young and foolish and reckless when I met Rachel. And although I don't regret having Julie, I regret that my recklessness resulted in getting Rachel pregnant when neither of us was mature enough to handle the responsibility. Rachel had to grow up in a hurry, while I just went on my merry way. I sent money to help with expenses but I wasn't there to help raise our child. I want to be here with you. To raise our son together." He kissed me softly.

"I love you and I want to marry you. Not because you had my son." He continued. "I would have asked you to marry me regardless. I know you are thinking about what Morelli said to you, that I am marrying you because of Ricky and that it won't last. I am not going to lie to you and tell you it will never happen. But, I will tell you this. We are going to do everything possible to try to make it work. It won't be easy. But, when we hit a rough spot we will work and try to fix it. I am not going to run away and divorce you at the first sign of trouble and hope you won't either." He cupped my face with his free hand.

"But, look at me. I have one failed marriage and a failed relationship. Maybe it is me. Maybe I'm the problem." I started to tear up so I looked down so he couldn't see.

"Babe, look at me." He lifted my chin. "The Dick just wanted someone that looked good on his arm. Someone that could help with his career. He wanted you as arm candy. He never really loved you. If he had, he wouldn't have been screwing half of Trenton. And Morelli was screwing the other half. All he wanted was someone to take care of him and his needs. Someone to cook, clean and someone to help continue the Morelli line. They didn't appreciate you for whom you are and what you needed. They wanted you to change. We made mistakes on our way to finding each other." He cupped my face again. "We are soul mates. I love you. You are my light. You are my everything."

"I love you so much it hurts. I don't think I could survive without you in my life." I whispered.

"Stop listening to what everyone is saying and listen to your heart. We will prove them wrong and show them that what we have is real. Let me show you how much I love you. And no, it isn't about sex." He stopped me as I started to say something. "If all I wanted was just sex, I could go down to Stark Street and find someone to fill my needs. I want you. I want to go to sleep holding you and wake up with you in my arms. I want to shower you with gifts and buy you cars and houses to show you how much I love you.

I want to see you fly. To be the person you were meant to be. Please don't doubt me. I've never lied to you," He placed his forehead against mine. "The only thing I want to change about you is your knowledge of the security business."

"You want me to learn about the security business?" I moved my head away.

"Yes, I think you have the tenacity and instincts that will really help with RangeMan. You already know how to run searches and dig for information on fugitives and clients. I want you to learn about setting up security systems for both the public and private sectors."

"Does that mean that you will have me doing surveillance and monitor duty?"

"There is that, but I was thinking more about helping me with clients. Going into the homes and businesses and seeing where there could be potential problems and where security needs could be upgraded."

"Oh."

"I know you don't want to do takedowns and apprehensions right now. But, I can't see you sitting behind a computer for a long time either. This way you can get out of the office. You won't be grounded. You can still spread your wings."

I had decided that bounty hunting wasn't a wise choice for a career right now. Especially while I was pregnant and Ranger was still in the wind. I didn't want my son to be orphaned because of some stupid skip. And Ranger didn't know about him. So, until Ricky was a little older, I thought that it would be better for me just to do computer work.

"You know me so well. No one else understood that about me. They just expected me to conform and adapt."

"This is one of the ways we are going to make this partnership work, Babe." He said with his forehead back against mine. "We understand each other. I know you need to be able to spread your wings. You know that there are some things that I have done but can't discuss. Even though my contract is over with the government there may still be times when I will need to leave."

"I think Ricky is asleep." He looked at our son sleeping in my lap. "Let's put him to bed. And then I will show you how much I love you."

________________

**Ranger's POV**

The next morning after breakfast, Steph and I sat on the couch. I dialed the number for Miami. Julie and I had kept in touch after the Scrog incident. She started to call me Dad. Ron would always be Daddy.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.

"Rachel. This is Carlos. How are you?" I said.

"Fine, Carlos. What brings you to call so yearly?" Rachel asked.

"I was hoping to catch Julie before she left for school. Is she there?"

"She is just finishing up breakfast. The school bus doesn't come for another half an hour. Julie, your dad is on the phone. He said he would like to talk to you."

I heard the chair as it was pushed back, and someone running to the phone.

"Dad?" Julie inquired.

"Good morning, Carina. How are you today?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Dad. How come you are calling so early in the morning?"

"I just had something important that I wanted to share with you." I hesitated. "I asked Steph to marry me and she said yes."

"Oh my God! That is so awesome! Mom! Dad and Steph are getting married! When?" She asked.

"We set a date in September."

"Cool. Can I come?"

"Well one of the reasons for the call is that Steph and I would like you to be in the wedding."

"Oh my God! Really? Mom! They want me to be in the wedding!" She shrieked.

Steph was chuckling. She could hear the shrieking. "You think she is excited?" She asked.

I nodded my head. "I think I lost my hearing in this ear."

"Julie. Julie. Julie!" I was trying to get her attentions. I knew she would have to be leaving for the bus stop soon.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Steph would like to talk to you."

"O.K." I put the phone on speaker.

"Hi Julie." Steph said.

"Oh my God! I can't believe that you and my dad are getting married and that you want me to be part of it!"

"Well, it wouldn't be right not to include you. You are as much a part of this family as Ricky. We want you to be there."

"Do I get a fancy dress?"

"Yes, I have some dresses that I saw in a magazine that I think would be good for a girl your age. So that is another reason for the call. Your dad and I are hoping your mom will let you come up here for a visit over spring break. I can take you to the shop and we can look at dresses for you and try them on and see what you like."

"Cool! Mom can I go to Trenton over spring break?"

"Let me talk to your dad." Rachel said.

"My mom wants to talk to dad."

"O.K. Sweetie. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, Steph." Julie said.

"Steph?" Rachel asked.

"Hi Rachel. Do you think she was a little excited there?" Steph asked.

"I'm surprised you couldn't hear her all the way in Trenton. So, you and Carlos are getting married. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I was wondering if my ex-husband would finally wake up. Is Carlos still there?"

"Yes, he is. Hold on." Steph said and she handed the phone back to me.

"Hi Rachel." I said as I took the phone and turned off the speaker.

"Congratulations, Carlos. Steph is good for you. She understands you better than I ever did."

"Thank you, Rachel. We were hoping that Julie could come up to visit us when she has spring break."

"I have to talk to Ron, but I think we can work something out."

"The wedding will be in September and I know school will be back in session then, but we are hoping we can work something out so she won't miss too many days."

"I'll have to let you know. The next school year calendar isn't out yet. But I don't see a problem with missing a few days."

"Thanks, Rachel. Well, I should let you go. You have kids that need to get to school. I'll be in touch."

"O.K. Carlos. And again congratulations on your engagement. I'll call you with the spring break dates in a couple of days."

"Good. Bye, Rachel."

"Bye, Carlos." I closed the phone and turned to look at my Babe. We smiled at each other. Things were working out. Let's hope that the rest of day went as smoothly.

________________

**Steph's POV**

After the morning meeting, Ranger and I entered his office hand in hand. He was carrying Ricky. Tank, Bobby and Lester we already there waiting for us.

"You wanted to see us, boss?" Tank asked.

"Yes, Steph and I have something we would like to discuss with you." Ranger looked down at me.

"Ranger and I were wondering if you would consent to being a part of our wedding?" I asked.

All three of them smiled. "I would be honored to be part of your wedding, Bombshell." Bobby said.

"Absolutely, Beautiful." Lester said.

"It's about time. I thought that the two of you would just run off and elope." Tank replied.

"You were so sure that we would ask you?" Ranger inquired. Tank just smiled.

"So, who are going to be the bridesmaids?" Lester asked.

"Well, we are going to ask Lula, Mary Lou and Connie. Does that meet with your approval?" I asked Lester.

"Sure does, Beautiful." Lester replied. "So which one of us is the best man?"

"Tank." Ranger said.

"Does that mean that Lula is going to be the maid of honor?" Tank asked.

"Yes, it does, Big Guy." I replied. Tank smiled again.

"So, who am I going to be paired up with?" Lester asked.

"I thought that Connie would be good for you. She can keep you in line." I said.

"What? I don't need to be kept in line." Lester said indignantly. "When I have a job to do, I do it. That includes weddings."

"So then Mary Lou is my partner." Bobby said.

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked.

"No. Not at all. As long as I don't have to escort your grandma." Bobby said with a shutter.

"Actually, Grandma has been pretty mellow lately. She didn't have much to say last night." I said. "Nor did she do anything. Maybe she is sick." A sadness washed over me when I thought that she may be sick and may not be around for the wedding.

"Oh, oh, we get to plan the bachelor party." Lester said. "We have to go to Dominos of course. Party!"

"I don't want my fiancé in a strip club." I stated.

"Why not? I am sure that Lula and Connie will hold your bachelorette party at a male strip club." Lester said.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Ranger said.

"What? What is fit for the gander, is fit for the goose." I said.

"I think the phrase is 'what is fit for the goose, is fit for the gander'." Ranger corrected me.

"Yeah, but you're the gander. And if you get to go to a strip club, then I get to go to a strip club. What is fit for you, is fit for me." I countered.

"See what you guys started." Ranger said to the Merry Men. They were all chuckling.

"Well, I think you all should be getting back to work. We need to head over to the bonds office to ask the other half of the wedding party." I commented.

We all filed out of Ranger's office. The guys went on their merry way to whatever needed their attention. Ranger and I with little Ricky headed for the garage. Once I got Ricky strapped in the car and got myself in the SUV, we headed to the bonds office.

**TBC Chapter 4 - Black and White**


	4. Chapter 4

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. Sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters with be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

****

Chapter 4  
Black and White

We pulled up in front of the office. I noticed that Mary Lou was already there. We got out of the SUV. I unstrapped Ricky and Ranger took my hand as we entered the office.

Mary Lou spotted us first.

"Oh my God! Isn't he the cutest little baby." She squealed. She came over and took Ricky from me. "I love the little cargos."

"Hey, the Batfamily has arrived." Lula said. "What's with the matching clothes?"

I hadn't really noticed but I guess we did sort of match. We all wore black. I had on a black turtleneck sweater and black jeans. Ranger had on his usual black cargos and black long sleeved t-shirt. I had dressed Ricky in little black cargos and a black sweatshirt. We all had on black parkas.

"So, Steph, what did you want us all here for?" Connie asked.

"Ranger and I have set a date for our wedding." I began. "And we would like the three of you to be in the wedding."

"Oh, Steph, I would love to be part of you wedding." Mary Lou gushed.

"Hey, white girl, who else be part of this bat wedding?" Lula asked.

"Well, we asked Tank to be the best man, and Bobby and Lester to be the groomsmen." I answered.

"So who's goin' to be your maid of honor?" Lula stood with hands on hips.

"I was hoping that you would be." I looked over at Mary Lou and I saw her expression falter a bit. But she recovered by talking to Ricky. "Mare. I hope you are O.K. with this. I know that you sort of was expecting me to pick you..."

"Hey Steph, it's O.K. I understand. I was your maid of honor when you married The Dick. I can't expect to be the maid of honor all the time. I least I am still going to be part of your wedding." She said as she put a smile on her face. "I think I would have been really hurt if you had chosen say one of Ranger's sisters over me."

"Well, Ranger and I decided not to ask any of our family members to be in the wedding. No, brothers, sisters, nieces or nephews." I explained. "We didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by picking one over the other. So, Val won't be in this wedding. Nor will Angie, Mary Alice or Lisa."

"You aren't having a flower girl?" Connie asked.

"No. Just as we aren't having a ring bearer. Ricky is too small to do it. And Ranger has several nephews. So it's just better to do without. Besides, I didn't have them at my first wedding either."

"What about Batman's daughter?" Lula inquired.

"Julie is going to be in it. But she is too old to be a flower girl. She is going to be a junior bridesmaid."

"So does that mean that we are going wedding dress shopping soon?" Mary Lou asked.

"If now is soon enough and if you have time I would love for you to come with me to look at dresses. I have some dresses in mind. I just hope that Tina either has the dresses I am looking for or can order them."

"Let's go." Lula said.

I put Ricky's jacket back on him and handed him to Ranger. Ranger gave me a a searing kiss. "Have fun Babe. Don't worry about the expense ladies. I will pick up the tab."

"Carlos, you don't have to do that." I said.

"Yes, he does." Lula said. "Let's go before he changes his mind."

"I will see you later." I kissed Ranger again, then kissed Ricky. "Are you going to be O.K. watching him?" I said remembering the last time I left him in charge of watching the baby.

"Yes, I think I can handle it. And I will call Ella if I have a problem. I won't let my men take care of him."

"Why, what happened?" Connie asked.

"Well, let's just say that Lester got pooped on, peed on and spit up on, the one time when I asked Ranger to watch little Ricky so I could go shopping. He sort of passed the baby to Lester."

The girls chuckled. "I won't be able to join you ladies. I have to stay here. Vinnie is out. But let me know if you find anything and I will stop in during lunch or after work so they can take my measurements to order the dress." Connie said sadly.

_______________

We piled into Mary Lou's mini van and headed to Tina's Bridal Shoppe.

"So what color have you chosen for our dresses?" Mary Lou asked.

"I decided to go with black and white." I said.

"What? You need to go with color. I look my best in bright bold colors." Lula said. "Don't you get enough of wearing black with your work clothes?"

"It is Ranger's signature color. I wanted to go with something that he would be comfortable with."

"Yeah, well he can wear a black tux. I gotta have color."

"I am not backing down. I told my mother the same thing. The colors are going to be black and white. We are going to add color with the flowers. This is my wedding and we are doing it my way. Nobody is going to change my mind. And that includes you, Lula. You want to be part of this, then you go with the colors I want." I said forcefully. Letting them know that this is how it is going to be.

"Well, you don't have to get all huffy about it." Lula said. "I was just making a statement."

"Look, Lula. I would love to have you be my maid of honor, but if you are going to give me a hard time about this, then I will get someone else."

"You are not going to have someone else be with my man. I guess I can settle for what ever you pick out. But it better be good."

We pulled up in front of the the store and got out. Mom was already there waiting for us.

"It took you long enough." Mom said. "I was beginning to think that you suddenly called the wedding off."

"Mom. I would have called you if that was the case." I was suddenly wishing I was home with Ricky and that all this wedding stuff was over. I could feel a headache coming on. Mary Lou noticed my discomfort and came over to me and put her arm around me in support.

Tina walked up to me. "So, I guess the rumors are true. Stephanie Plum is getting married again."

"Hi Tina. I was wondering if you had this dress or if you can order it for the bridesmaids." I said handing her the picture. I chose not to comment on her statement about me getting married again.

"Yes, I think I have this dress. The bridesmaid dress I have is in apple, which is a red." She said.

"Oooh, girl! I look good in red! Red would be a hot color." Lula exclaimed.

"Can you order it in black and white?" I asked Tina giving Lula the death glare.

Lula quieted down.

"Stephanie, if your bridesmaids don't like the color you picked it is your obligation to pick a color that they will feel comfortable in." My mom scolded.

"Does anyone have a problem with wearing black?" I asked as I glared at Lula and Mary Lou.

"No Steph. Black is fine." Mary Lou responded.

"Uh uh. Nope. Not a problem." Lula replied.

"You see Mom. They don't have a problem with the color." I said.

Tina came back with the red dress. "Yes, I can order it in black and white. It shouldn't be a problem. See where the split is here." She indicated on the dress. "This is where it would be white. And the matching shawl is black on one side and white on the other. Who would like to try it on?"

Mary Lou was the only one there who could actually fit in the dress. I checked with Tina on the side to make sure that the dress came in plus size. I know that Lula can get herself into smaller sizes when it is made of spandex. But I didn't what her spilling out and splitting the seams. Tina said there wouldn't be a problem. She wouldn't let Lula know the actual size that she would be ordering for her. And then alter it so that it fit just right.

Mary Lou came out wearing the dress. It really looked nice. I was contemplating changing the color but then stopped myself. I am going to stick with the black and white theme.

"What about gloves? Would either of you have a problem with wearing long elbow length gloves?" I asked.

"Ooh gloves. Now that would look hot." Lula said.

"I think that if you go with gloves, you should go with white." Tina said.

"Mary Lou? Your thoughts?" I asked.

"I'm all for it. And I think white will look great." She said.

"Mom? You were the one that suggested the gloves?" I looked at her.

"I told you last night that I thought white gloves would look nice." She replied.

Tina went to work getting the measurements of Lula and Mary Lou. I told her that Connie would be in later in the day so she can get Connie's measurements. I asked Tina if she would show the dress to Connie and explain what the black and white dress would look like and about the gloves. I told the girls they can pick their own shoes but that they had to be black. I reminded them that they are going to standing in the shoes for a long time, so to picked out a shoe that they would be comfortable in.

We looked at dresses for the mother of the bride. I told my mom that she could get a dress in any color that she liked. She found a very nice dress in, what else, black and white. It was a mock-two piece dress. The top was white wrap with a portrait collar. The skirt was black taffeta.

We looked for a dress for Grandma. Choosing a couple for her to try on. I was going to bring her in couple of days. She had a viewing at Stiva's that she couldn't miss.

I asked Tina about a dress for Julie. She showed us several dresses and told me which ones could be ordered in black. I chose a black satin ball gown with spaghetti straps that had a soft gathers. She said we could add a white satin sash that tied either in back or on the side. I asked if she had a picture to send to Julie. She said that she could scan it and send it to me then I can send it to Julie. Julie was coming up for a visit during spring break. I would bring her in so she can see the dress and get measured.

Then it was my turn. Tina found the dress that I liked and a couple others that were similar. I tried them on and went out front to show my mom and the girls. Everyone like the dress I had picked out. The other dresses Tina brought in for me to try on were nice but I wasn't thrilled about them. The last dress had a red sash that tied in the back and hung down with the train. I guess red was the hot color this year. There was bead work on the ends. I step out front. Everyone just gasped at me. The dress was perfect. It was an a-line halter with a split front. Tina told me she can order the dress with a black sash.

"Steph, if you don't get this dress it would be a sin." Mary Lou said.

"Wow, white girl. Batman is goin' to die when he sees you." Lula exclaimed.

"Oh, Steph, you look absolutely stunning in that dress. This is the dress. You have to get this dress." My mom said with tears in her eyes.

"Damn straight." Lula added.

I looked at myself in the mirror. "Yeah," I said. "This is THE dress. It's perfect."

"What about a veil?" Tina asked.

"I don't want a veil that covers my face and looks like a shower curtain." I said. "I just want a simple veil that hangs from the back of my head."

She put different ones on my head until we found one that looked right. I looked at everybody.

"You are going to be a beautiful bride, Stephanie." My mom said.

"Absolutely." Tina agreed. "I don't think I have seen a more beautiful bride."

"Girl you are the bomb!" Lula said. "I can't wait to see the look on Batman's face."

"Steph, you are gorgeous. That dress is perfect. Everything is going to be perfect." Mary Lou gushed.

I got changed and went to the counter. I pulled out Ranger's credit card and put the down payment on the dresses. Then we all went to have lunch at Pino's.

______________

Mary Lou dropped me off at RangeMan. Ram was at the desk in the lobby.

"Hey Steph. Did you have a good day shopping for a wedding dress?" Ram asked

"Yeah, I did. I found the perfect dress. Is Ranger in his office or up on seven?" I asked.

Ram check the computer. "It looks like he is in his office."

"Do you know if he had problems with Ricky?"

"I didn't hear of any disasters." He replied.

I continued on to the elevators. I stepped off on the fifth floor. Hal and Bobby were on the monitors. Tank came out of his office.

"Everything went well. No disasters." Tank confirmed.

I continued to Ranger's office. I peaked in and Ricky was sleeping in Ranger's arms as he read some reports. He sensed me at the door and smiled.

"Hey, Babe. Did you have a good day bridal shopping? I hope you found the perfect dress." He said.

"I did, sort of. Tina kind made a comment about the rumors that she heard about me getting married again. And then I was getting heat from Lula and my mom about the colors we chose. But once they saw the dress and Tina explained how the black and white dress would look they got better and were more accommodating. We found a dress for my mom. Picked out a dress for Julie and a couple for Grandma to try on. And I did find the perfect dress. But don't ask me to described it to you. You will have to wait and see for yourself."

"I know that whatever you picked will look absolutely wonderful on you."

I gave him a tender kiss.

"Did you have any problems with Ricky?" I asked even though I already had confirmation that thing went well.

"Nope. We had lunch of cereal and spinach. I had a nice salad with strips of chicken. We played a little bit. I read to him some of my reports." I smiled at that. "But I think I put him into a coma with the dull reports."

"How long has he been out?" I asked.

"Not too long. Maybe an hour." He said.

"Well he'll probably sleep for another hour. I will take him from you and go upstairs. I could use a little nap myself."

I carefully took Ricky out of Ranger's arm. Ricky stirred a little bit but settled down. I gave Ranger another kiss and a smile with promise of more later. I headed to the elevator with the thoughts of a nice nap on the comfy bed upstairs.

**TBC Chapter 5 – Dinner At the Manosos**

**NOTE:** There is a link in my profile that will take you to Snapfish where I created a photo album of what Stephanie and Ranger's wedding will look like. New photos will be added as the story progresses. So check back often.


	5. Chapter 5

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor **and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters with be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 5  
****Dinner At The Manosos**

I woke up when I heard Ricky babbling in his crib. I got up and went to pick him up. He smiled at me and continued his story. I think he was telling me how things went this morning with his Daddy. I changed him and went down to see Ranger.

"Hey Babe. Did you both have a nice nap?" He asked.

"Yeah, we did. I'm going to head home to start getting ready for dinner with your family. Don't work too late." I gave him a kiss and he kissed Ricky.

"O.K. Babe. Drive safely. I should be home around 4:00 p.m." He said as he escorted us to the elevator. He gave me another deep kiss before Ricky and I stepped into the elevator.

________________

Once we got home, I went to start a bath for Ricky. While the tub filled, I went to pick out something for him to wear. I made a conscious effort not to pick out something in black. Although, there seemed to be quite a bit of that color in his wardrobe. I didn't remember buying him so much in that color. Maybe I did and not even realize that I did. It is just something that is automatic since so much of my own wardrobe is black with working at RangeMan. Although, I am sure that everyone else thought that his wardrobe needed to be mainly black.

Once I picked out an outfit, I got Ricky and we headed to the bathroom to take a bath. I absolutely love the smell of baby wash and baby shampoo and love to smell my son after his bath.

I put on a onesie and placed him in the portable crib that I use as a playpen. I didn't want to put his outfit on in case he spit up on it. I placed the crib near the bathroom and left the bathroom door open so he can see and hear me while I shower and wash my hair. I sang to him while I was in there.

When I got out of the shower, I moved into the bedroom where he can still see me as I got dressed. I picked out a soft blue sweater and navy slacks for myself. I then went back into the bathroom to tackle my hair.

Ranger got home right when he said he would. How he does that, I don't know. He walked up the stairs and walked into the bedroom. He saw Ricky sitting in the crib.

"Hey there, Little Man. Is Mommy getting herself ready? Why aren't you dressed?"

I came out of the bathroom, hair and make-up all done. "Hey, you're home right on time." I said as I gave him a kiss.

"Babe, why isn't he dressed?"

"Because I didn't want to have to dress him again if he spit up or peed through his clothes. Do you know how many outfits he goes through in a day? The bathroom is free. Go, take your shower and get ready yourself. When you are through, I'll have Ricky dressed and we can go."

"Babe, he has more clothes than you do. He'll never wear half those outfits because he will have out grown them. So what if you have to change him several times a day? It's not like you have to do the laundry. We have a housekeeper for that. And besides, it's not like you yourself haven't had days where you've gone through several outfits."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just go and get in the shower." I picked Ricky up and we headed into his bedroom to get him dressed. I chose one of the outfits that Maria had bought for him. It was little green overalls with a train on front and a long sleeved T-shirt with trains on it. I put on his little work boots and we were ready to go.

I stepped into the hallway just as Ranger came out of the bedroom. He had on a long sleeved burgundy henley and black slacks. "Are you ready to go, Babe?" He asked.

"Yep, we are all set. The diaper bag is packed waiting at the door with my purse. Just need to put our jackets on and we're good to go."

Ranger took Ricky to hold as I put on his jacket. Then Ranger strapped him into the carrier. "Babe, I think he is getting too big for this thing."

"It should last until he is a year old or 30 lbs. He is only seven months old and is about 17 lbs. He is fine." I said as I got my jacket on.

"Are you sure? He is getting heavy."

"Maybe you need to read 'Baby's First Year'. Yes, he is fine. We go for our check up next week. Why don't you come along and ask the doctor."

"I think I will. Why haven't you given me that book to read? I should know what is going on with my son."

"It is sitting right there on the night stand on my side of the bed. You want me to read it to you?"

"I have other things on my mind when we are in bed." He gave me his wolf grin.

"I usually read it after you have left for your run. Come on we better get going or we will be late. We will be hitting rush hour traffic." I said as I picked up the diaper bag and my purse. I checked and made sure that Ricky's favorite stuff animal was in the bag. We headed out to the Cayenne.

________________

Traffic was heavy, but we made good time. We got to Ranger's parents' house in a little over an hour. We noticed several other cars parked in the driveway and on the street in front of the house.

"Looks like everyone is here again. It's not like we don't visit often. We're here about every two weeks." Ranger said a little annoyed.

"It's just as well, then everyone will hear the plans first hand." I said.

We got out of the car and made our way to the door. It opened just as we got there. His mom coming out to see Ricky.

"There's my big boy." She cooed to him. Ricky gave her a big smile. His little arms moving around excitedly.

We managed to make our way into the house. We hung up our coats and made our way into the living room. There was no place to sit, so I dropped to the floor and motioned for Ranger to do the same. I got out a blanket and pulled out some toys. Ranger unstrapped Ricky from the carrier and handed him to me. I placed him on his tummy so that he could see his toys. He reached for his favorite stuffed animal which happened to be a giraffe. He couldn't quite reach it. He started to get upset. Ranger was about to pull the toy closer when I slapped his hand.

"Babe?" He asked.

"Let him try and get it himself. He won't learn how if everything is given to him."

As I was explaining this to Ranger, Ricky managed to belly crawl over to the giraffe. His squeals in delight that he got his toy drew our attention back to him. He brought his toy to his mouth and proceeded to chew on it. He dropped his left shoulder and brought his right leg up and the momentum allowed him to roll onto his back. He then looked at his giraffe and started talking to it.

"Keep your eye on him. He is getting more mobile now. I'm going to see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen." I told Ranger.

I got to the kitchen. "Do you need any help?" I asked Maria.

"No, no. Everything is under control. My girls are here and they are helping. But thank you for asking? How are the wedding plans coming? Do you need any help?"

"That is one of the reasons Carlos and I are here. We wanted to let you know about the plans. But we can discuss that all at dinner so everyone can hear."

"Oh! I can't wait to hear. You don't know how happy I am that Carlos is finally getting married. And to someone who is the love of his life. I know that some of us weren't very nice to you when we first met you. But I can see how much my son loves you and you have become a daughter to me. Don't get me wrong, we love Rachel too. But we knew that it was a marriage without love. And we love Julie just as much as we love Ricky. We don't get to see her as much as I would like. But maybe now she can come for visits more."

"I hope so too. We talked to Rachel to see if she can come for spring break and then we'll see if she can come and spend a couple of weeks in the summer."

"Oh I will love that. Do you think that maybe she could stay with us for a weekend?"

"I can ask her."

"I know that Carlos wants to get to know his daughter. We have kept in touch over the years. Ricardo and I have gone to visit her when we would go to Miami. Rachel has always made sure that Julie knew this side of her family. She never denied us our granddaughter even though Carlos chose to distant himself from her. I never understood why except he was out of the country so much. And I knew he felt that people from his past may try to get to him through his family. I guess that part came true when that Edward Scrog kidnapped Julie. But he is being given a second chance at being a father to Julie and to Ricky. I hope he appreciates this gift that he has been given. Not many people get second chances. And it is because of you."

"I can't take credit for that."

"But you can. If Carlos had not met you, Julie still would have been kidnapped. But the outcome could have been different. He would have blamed himself and distanced himself permanently from us, because he wouldn't want to anyone else to suffer the same fate."

"That, or Scrog could have killed both of them." I shuddered as I remember that night in my old apartment.

"He would not have the happiness he has now. He wouldn't have a son and he wouldn't have someone in his life that loves him for who he is. I truly believe that things happen for a reason. We don't know why. But everything that has happened in your lives have led you to each other. You both didn't follow the life that everyone expected of you. Carlos chose to join a gang and got in trouble with the law. I truly believe that because of that experience, no matter how wrong and illegal, is what made him choose the career he has. He knew how to think like a criminal and therefor knew where to look to find his man. His time in the army taught him certain skills that also helped in that line of work. The army also gave him the chance to finish college and get a degree in business. He probably wouldn't have gone into the army if it wasn't the way out for him to get away from the gangs. Had he stay in the gangs he probably wouldn't be alive today."

I had to agree with that.

"And you my dear, if you had not lost your job and needed money, you would not have become a bounty hunter and would never have met Carlos."

"Yes, I know. I thank God every day for that even though at the time I cursed Him for letting that happen to me. I guess He knew best."

She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh dear. We have been talking so much that I completely lost track of time. Can you get the girls and help me get dinner on the table."

I left to find Ranger's sisters. I walked into the living room. Ranger was talking with his father, brother and brothers-in-law. Ricky had somehow managed to get to the middle of the living room. No one seemed to notice him as he used his arms to propel himself across the floor. Ranger's sisters were busy getting their own children to settle down. Celia was getting her two boys into the bathroom to wash their hands before dinner.

"Uh, Carlos?" I called.

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Are you keeping an eye on Ricky?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"Then why is he almost out of the living room?"

Ranger turned to look at the blanket not seeing his son there. And then looked to see him moving across the floor.

"How?. . .When?. . ." Ranger stuttered.

"Don't ever tell me that I am not 'aware of my surroundings'." I stated.

Ranger sheepishly stood up and went to pick up his son. "Where do you think you are going? Mommy was in the kitchen over that way." He said as he pointed. Ricky just giggled.

"Celia." I said as she walked back in the room. "Your mom needs help getting dinner on the table."

Celia and the other sisters quickly went into the kitchen.

________________

Once everyone had been seated, kids in the kitchen except for Ricky, adults in the dining room, and the food passed around the table, Maria spoke.

"Carlos and Stephanie have set a date for their wedding."

"Oh, you have?" Celia cried out.

"Yes, we have." Ranger answered. "We have decided on a September wedding. We are getting married in New Brunswick at the same church that Ricky was baptized at. The reception will be at the Hyatt Regency."

"Have you picked your attendants yet?" Alana, the youngest sister, asked.

"Um, yes we have. Carlos and I decided that we didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. So we aren't having any family members be in our wedding. We chose our closest friends."

"Oh." Alana said disappointedly.

"See. This is what we didn't want. I have four sisters and a brother, who I love very much. Steph has a sister. We can't have all of you in the wedding. We could have had her sister, Val, as maid of honor and I could have, Ernesto, as my best man. And have a simple wedding. But we didn't want that. We knew that someone would have been hurt. We want our families there to share our day equally and not have resentment built up because they weren't chosen." Ranger said.

"Carlos and I love all of you, but we work with and spend more time with our friends than we do with our families. It just was natural for us to choose our friends. When we asked each other who we wanted, we both came up with the same people."

"We all will support them with their decisions. This is their wedding and they should be able to do it the way they want." Maria said. "So what else have you decided on? Have you found your dress yet?"

"Actually, I found a dress in Bride's magazine, but when I went to try it on, the owner of the shop brought out this other dress that I immediately fell in love with and fit so well with the colors that we are going with." I told her.

"Oh, what is the color scheme?" Celia asked. "I hope not black."

"Um, um. . ." I stuttered.

"Oh. I take it that you ARE going with black." Celia noted.

"Babe, your dress isn't black, is it?" Ranger turned to me.

"Um, not entirely. I can't tell you what it looks like. You will have to wait and see. But it is a white dress. Although, maybe I shouldn't be wearing white." I said sheepishly.

"Nonsense Stephanie. You can wear whatever you want. No one is going to say anything about the fact you aren't a virgin." said Ernesto.

"That's right. She was married before. As was I." Ranger said as he stared at his brother for his comment.

"Oops. Did I say that? My bad." Ernesto said. "Can I give you a bit of advise bro? Get a paternity test. You were gone so how would you know she wasn't sleeping around. It could have been one of your men even. Maybe Santos or Brown. I don't think it could be Tank's kid."

Everyone sucked in their breath. No one made a sound.

"Enough! I am not going to dignify that with an answer! You don't know Stephanie and you don't know anything about our relationship. Babe, it's time to leave. Get Ricky." Ranger said as he stood up and threw his napkin on the table.

"Carlos. . ." I said.

"We are leaving. I think enough has been said between both our families. Here is the final ultimatum. Steph and I are getting married in September. We are doing it our way and are having the people we want to participate. You are all welcome to attend provided you can keep your comments to yourselves. If you disapprove in anyway please do yourselves and us a favor and stay home." He turned and left the dining room.

Maria got up a scurried after her son as I got up. Ranger's dad got up to help me with Ricky.

"Carlos. . ." she said.

"No, Mama. I have had enough. All Steph and I have gotten from both our families is grief. Everyone has added their two-cents and they try to change our wedding to fit their ideas and beliefs. And what Ernesto just insinuated. I should have hauled off and slugged him."

"They are just. . ." Maria tried to say. Ranger's dad escorted me from the living room after getting the diaper bag and picking up the blanket and toys.

"No! This is our wedding and we will do as we see fit. All we asked is for everyone's blessing and instead we are getting crap about where the wedding is being held, what color the dresses are going to be, even about the color period. And that last dig about Steph not being a virgin and that Ricky is not my son was the last straw. No one insults the woman I love like that. I am so glad that I am not having him stand up for me. My best man would not do that to me or to her. In fact none of the people that are in the wedding party would hurt either one of us in such a vile manor. I guess the saying is true - you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family. Good night Mama. Next time we come for dinner I would appreciate if the whole family wasn't here." Ranger gave is mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Ready to go Babe?"

"Yeah." I handed Ricky in his carrier to Ranger. "Good-bye, Maria. I will call you tomorrow and fill you in the rest of the plans. I need help with the flowers and cake. I've asked my mom for help as well. May be we can get together one of these days just the three of us and go check out florists and cake tasting."

"Yes, I would like that. I am so sorry, my dear, for the way my children have behaved toward you. You don't deserve that. I thought that they have started to accept you but I guess I was wrong."

"Maybe Carlos and I should have chosen our siblings. Maybe they would be a little more friendlier toward Ricky and me."

"It doesn't matter. I love you and I love Ricky. I will give them I piece of my mind when I go back in there."

"Stephanie." Ricardo said. "I am ashamed of my own children. I am sorry you had to be put through that. You have our love. Carlos, I am proud how you stood up to your brother and sisters and defended your woman. I am appalled that my own children could be so insensitive." He gave me a hug and slapped his son on the back.

We turned to leave. "Wait!" Celia came running to the door. "Stephanie I am so sorry. I smacked Ernesto in the head for his rude comment. I want to apologize for myself. I am sorry if my comment about the black dresses offended you. It wasn't my intent to be insulting. It was made toward Carlos here and his choice of wardrobe."

"It's O.K. Celia. I understand. You aren't the first make a comment on our choice and you probably won't be the last." I said.

"I know but as Carlos said this is your wedding. We shouldn't be making comments like that. It really isn't any of our business."

"Let's go, Babe." Ranger said. "Good night Mama. Good night Papa. Good night Celia."

I kissed Maria and Ricardo and hugged Celia. Ranger took my hand and led me out the door and to the car. Once we were settled in the car Ranger looked at me.

"Have my brother and sisters always been that cruel to you?"

"At first when I came up here with Tank to tell your family I was pregnant, Ernesto made some comments. Tank wanted to smash in his face. But since you have been home and we have been coming up here for visits he really hasn't said too much to me. As for your sisters, they have been a little more accepting then they were in the beginning. Your parents couldn't have been more loving."

"What did he say to you?"

"I would rather not tell you." I said softly.

"Why?"

"Because you won't like it."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Please, Babe. You are my family now. I won't let my brother come between us. Tell me what my brother said to you."

I took a deep breath. "He called me a 'gold digging whore' and a 'money hungry slut'." I said with my eyes closed. Ranger was quiet. When I opened my eyes and looked at him, he had a death grip on the steering wheel.

"I am so sorry, Babe, that you had to deal with that. You didn't deserve to be treated like that by my family. And I am ashamed to call them my family."

"I am not going to lie to you and tell you it's O.K. It hurts. But it is only words. I can deal with it. Don't go and do something stupid, like shoot him or something. Maybe we should fly to Vegas or someplace and get married. It would be less stressful. And we wouldn't be hurting our families."

"The hell with our families. They don't have to show up. Especially if they are going to treat my wife so crudely. Besides, I want to see this dress." He leaned over and gave me a passionate kiss. When we broke the kiss he pressed his forehead against mine.

"Maybe it is me. Maybe you shouldn't marry me. Obviously your family disapproves. Especially because I got pregnant. I don't want to come between you and your family." I said softly. "And it's O.K. if you want a paternity test."

"I love you, Steph. I am not going to give Ernesto the satisfaction that I am even considering it. I don't care what my family thinks. I can't wait for you to be my wife."

"I love you too, Carlos. But if we get the paternity test it will prove him wrong."

"I trust you. I know you would never cheat on me. Besides, I happen to know that a few of my siblings got married because there was a bun in the oven. Including Ernesto. So for him to say the things he did tonight was hypocritical. As for what he said to you earlier, he didn't know anything about us and our relationship. None of them did. And for him to call you a whore and a slut was uncalled for."

"He was just trying to protect you. You were gone. He was being the big brother."

"Did any of the rest of my family hear his comments?"

"No, he pulled me aside. Tank was nearby, so he heard. I think your brother wanted him to over hear so it would get back to you. I take it Tank never told you."

"No. I think he was afraid I would kill Ernesto."

"Are you?"

"No, just being here with you like this is calming me down. You always have that effect on me. Even when I am upset with you. All I have to do is touch you and I start to calm down."

And we just stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a couple of minutes until a little voice sounded from the back seat.

"I think he is hungry. He didn't get his cereal and vegetables." I said.

"There is a restaurant not far from here that I like. We can get us something to eat. And you can feed Ricky."

Ranger started the car and pulled away from the curb.

**TBC Chapter 6 - Flowers and Cake**


	6. Chapter 6

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 6  
****Flowers and Cake**

When we got home later that night, there had to be twenty messages on the answering machine. We had to shut our phones off at the restaurant because they were ringing so much. Most of them were from various members of Ranger's family from his mom, his sisters and even some of the older nieces and nephews. All apologizing for the way they or others had acted tonight.

"_Carlos, Stephanie, this is Celia. I want to apologize for the way dinner turned out tonight. It was supposed to be a joyous, happy meal but instead turned out to be a disaster. Call me."_

"_Carlos, this is your mother. I am so sorry for the way Stephanie was treated tonight. I hope she isn't too upset with us. Your father and I love you both."_

"_Uncle Carlos? This is Cara. I am sorry that my dad was so rude to Aunt Steph. I happened to over hear it from the kitchen. I like Aunt Steph and I hope she still wants to be part of our family."_

"_Hey, big brother. This is Alana. I want to apologize for my comment earlier. I am truly sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did. Steph doesn't know us all that well and she should have the people she is closest to in her wedding. I hope I am still invited to the wedding. Love you."_

"_Stephanie? This is Maria again. Please call me tomorrow. I want to help any way I can to make this wedding the kind of wedding you both deserve."_

"_Carlos? Stephanie? This is Shantel_._ I can't believe what my husband said to you and Stephanie. He is sleeping on the couch tonight. And if I find out he has said anything else to either you or Stephanie like this, he may find himself locked out of the house. I hope his stupid comments don't reflect on how the rest of the family feels. I can't speak for everyone but I love you both. I look forward to your wedding. I know it is going to be something special. Just like the two of you. If there is anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to call. Even if it means keeping Ernesto from attending. Goodnight. And again, I am truly sorry."_

_______________

I called Maria the next day. I set up a day that she and my mom and me could go to check out florists and cake tasting. She was still apologizing for her children's behavior. She was thrilled that I still wanted her to help with some of the wedding plans. We decided that we should check out florists and bakeries in New Brunswick first.

The day of our outing, I stopped at RangeMan to drop off Ricky and pick up my Crossfire. I got off the elevator on five and headed to Ranger's office.

"Hey Beautiful. Little Bossman." Lester called out from the control room. "Why aren't you working today? Just because you and the bossman are getting married doesn't mean you can shirk your duties."

"I'll have you know, Lester, that I cleared it with the boss and where I am going and who I am going with. I should be getting hazard pay."

"Where are you off to, Bombshell?" Tank asked as he came out of his office.

"I am taking my mom and meeting Ranger's mom. We are going to check out florists and bakeries in New Brunswick."

"Sounds like checking out bakeries is right up your alley, Bombshell." Tank said.

"Not if I want to fit into my dress."

"You have plenty of time to workout and get into shape before the wedding." Lester commented.

"You see, I don't want to have to workout before the wedding."

"Hey, Babe. What are you doing here? I thought you and your mom were going to New Brunswick and meeting my mom there." Ranger said when he came out of his office.

"Yeah, I am. Val was suppose to watch Ricky, but Mary Alice is home sick with strep throat. I called Mary Lou but her boys are home sick with the stomach flu."

"Sorry, Babe. I have meetings all day today. I can't watch the little man here."

"I called Ella and she said she would be more than happy to watch him. And I came to get my car. Just wanted to stop by and let you know the change of plans."

"O.K. Babe. I'll see you tonight." He gave me a kiss that curled my toes. I was surprised at the PDA in front of the guys. He gave Ricky a kiss on the head then headed to the elevator with Tank following.

"So you're spending the day with your mom and Maria? No Grandma?" Lester asked.

"No, she has a new man that she met at Stiva's last week. They have a date. They are going to a matinee and then dinner at Old Country Buffet. Then tonight there is another viewing at Stiva's."

"Sounds like fun. Not. I hope I don't resort to that for entertainment when I get old."

"Well, I should get Ricky up to Ella's. See you later Lester."

I knocked on Ella's door. She opened the door.

"Come in Steph. Hi there Ricky. Ready to spend the day with Auntie Ella?" she said taking Ricky from me.

"I have extra clothes in the diaper bag. Here is his cereal and the vegetable of the day. Today we are trying squash. Yum." I said to him. He smiled. "Here are a couple of bottle of breast milk. If he goes through them there is a can of powered formula that I use to supplement. There are diapers, but if you should run out there is a pack up on seven. I see you brought the portable crib up. Here is his blanket and his giraffe."

At the sight of his giraffe he reached for it. And grabbed it out of my hands.

"He is moving now so you may need to keep things out of his reach. And watch him. He practically made it out the door at Ranger's parent's house. Ranger was too busy discussing things with his dad and brother that he didn't notice Ricky moving across the room until I brought it to his attention."

"I'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry. He'll be fine."

"There are more toys in the bag. You have my cell number. Call me if there is a problem. Don't bother Ranger. He has meetings all day and will be in and out." I put the diaper bag down and went into the kitchen to put the bottles in the refrigerator and placed the cereal and jar of squash on the counter.

"We'll be fine. Today is a good day for me. I don't have any laundry from the guys to do. I just need to put sandwiches out for lunch and snacks in the afternoon."

"O.K. I really hate to be a bother. He usually takes a two to three hour nap after lunch. I usually read to him and then he falls asleep. Don't let him sleep too long. He doesn't go to sleep till later at night then."

"No problem Stephanie. Now go. Have fun with your mom and Maria."

I gave Ricky a kiss. "Bye sweetie. Mommy will be back later. Be good for Auntie Ella." I turned to go to the door. Ricky sort of waved and then I was gone. I didn't hear any crying as I waited for the elevator. Still nothing when the elevator opened and I got in. Still nothing as the doors closed.

I got out at the garage and headed for my Crossfire. I got in and started the engine. I couldn't believe that Ricky wasn't making a fuss. I sat in the car and looked at my cell phone. It didn't ring. I sighed and put the car in reverse to back out of my space. Still nothing. I put the car in drive and exited the garage. My phone still didn't ring. I got to my parent's house and pull into the driveway. Still the phone hadn't rung. Mom came out of the house and opened the car door and got in. I was checking my phone again.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"I don't know. I left Ricky with Ella and he didn't make a fuss when I left. I was waiting for a call from Ella. But so far the phone hasn't rung. I was checking to make sure it was turned on and the battery was fully charged."

"He'll be fine, Steph. He is getting used to having other people around. And it is not like she is a total stranger."

"I know, but I usually don't get to go out without him. I usually take him with me when I go shopping or over here for dinner. Or Carlos watches him. It just seems strange to leave him with someone other than us."

"Well, maybe you should leave him with a sitter more often. You're going to leave him for two weeks when you go on your honeymoon. And you aren't going to be a couple of minutes away if he starts to cry."

"I know mom. It's just that I don't like to be away from him. Which is why I like working at RangeMan because I can take him with me to work."

"You can take him to work with you because your boss happens to be his father. I doubt that if Ricky were Joseph's you wouldn't be allowed to do that."

"I guess you are right. But I doubt I would be working at RangeMan if Joe were the father."

"You are probably right about that. I think we better get going. Where and what time are we suppose to meet Maria?"

"We are starting out at New Brunswick Florist and we will go from there. I told her we would be there about 10:30 and then get some lunch and then look at cakes."

________________

**Ranger's POV**

Tank and I got into the Cayenne.

"So how did dinner go with your family the other night?" Tank asked.

"It was fine until my brother started in on Stephanie. Why didn't you tell me what he had called her?"

"Hey man, I didn't think it was my place. Steph didn't want me to say anything. I am surprised she told you. I got the impression she figured that what you didn't know wouldn't hurt you. So he said it again.?"

"Not those exact words. But he insinuated it. He made a comment about wearing a white wedding dress. Then he said that I should get a paternity test done. He did say he didn't think you were the father. But he suggested that Santos or Brown could be."

Tank sucked in his breath. "Is he still alive?"

"I didn't touch him. But I can't vouch for the rest of my family. I wanted to kill him. But Steph and I just got up in the middle of dinner and left."

"He's lucky. If I would have been there your family would be planning a funeral."

"I don't think I ever thanked you for taking care of Steph and the baby while I was gone. I know that I can rely on you and the rest of RangeMan to watch over them."

"Hey man, no problemo. We all love her. She's family. The kind of family that deserves respect and kindness.'

With that, we continued the drive in silence.

________________

**Steph's POV**

We got to New Brunswick in plenty of time and met up with Maria. I told mom what had happened at dinner the other night so she would understand if Maria kept apologizing.

"Oh, Stephanie. I still feel so bad about the other night." Maria cried as she hugged me outside the florist shop.

"It'll be fine. Carlos and I talked about it. We had tons of phone calls from various family members apologizing for what had happened."

"Were any of them from Ernesto?" She asked.

"No, Shantel and Cara, Celia and Alana. But nothing from Ernesto."

"I see. That explains why Shantel was been cold toward Ernesto."

"Look, let's not dwell on this anymore. What's done is done. Or in this instance. What's said is said. We have a wedding to work on. Whether Ernesto shows up or not doesn't concern me. I want to marry the love of my life and no one or nothing is going to stop me. So, ladies shall we go and pick out flowers?"

We spent over an hour looking at different arrangements and trying to decide what color we should go with. Do we go with a fall theme? Or late summer? Do we want all one kind of flower? The choices were endless. I did know that I wanted a cascading bouquet and it had to have ivy, red roses and Stephanotis in it.

Ivy means friendship, wedded love, fidelity and affection, all the emotions that Ranger and I shared for each other. We started as friends, moved on to affection for one another, then love and fidelity. Red roses means love, desire, respect, courage, and job well done. Obviously we have love and desire, but we also respect each other, we both show courage and he always told me when I did a good job on something. Stephanotis means good luck and happiness in marriage. I hoped it did bring good luck. We also decided on some white roses too.

We went with a colorful assortment of flowers for the bridesmaids and Julie with blues, yellows, red, orange and purple. For the boutonnieres for the men, we just went with traditional: Red rose with some ivy leaves for Ranger. The guys would have a white rose with baby breath. My dad would have a pink rose with babies breath. Ranger's dad would have a yellow rose with babies breath. Then there are the brothers-in-law on both sides and Ranger's brother.

We also went traditional with the corsages for the moms, grandmas and sisters and sister-in-law, with roses and babies breath,

We needed flowers for the altar, which later can be used as centerpieces at the receptions. I decided on having flowers attached to the candelabras in the church and at the end of the pews for the families. The rest of the pews would just have bows.

"You know Steph. Seeing you are having a candlelight ceremony. Maybe you should rent a few more candelabras. You can place them down the aisle. The aisle is wide enough, if I remember correctly. You don't need one at every pew. Just space them a few pews apart." My mom suggested.

"Oh, Steph. That would look wonderful. You can add flower arrangements to those too and use the same bows that are on the pews." Maria add.

So we added all that. We went with black and white ribbons for the bows on the pews and just white ribbons to attach the flowers. I told the florist that I would get back to her with how many candelabras I would need after I checked out the church again. And I guess I needed flowers to set around the guest book. Who knew. Oh, and the unity candle. I hadn't thought of that. Mom suggested it. Now the question was did we want one that sat on the altar or a freestanding one. Something I needed to discuss with Ranger. Although, I am sure that whatever I decide would be fine with him.

It was two hours later by the time we got everything situated making sure we weren't forgetting anyone. We decided the nieces and nephews didn't need flowers. Neither did any of the aunts and uncles. Even then, the cost was astronomical.

We were all hungry by then. So we thought that we should go and eat at the Hyatt and maybe take a look at the reception hall and get a feel for what we may need there. My mom figured that if we were full from lunch we wouldn't be tempted to eat a lot of cake.

Yeah, right.

At the Hyatt we met with Barbara Ramon, the wedding coordinator. She was happy to show us the room and give us ideas. She told us that they can get covers for the chairs so they will have a more formal feel. The covers came in white or ivory with satin ribbons that tied in back of the chairs. The use of chair covers and satin ribbon bows was intriguing. I asked if they has black satin ribbon bows. Barbara said that they can get just about any color. It would look very much like my dress. So I decided to go with white chair covers and black satin ribbons. There was also a fountain in the room right when you walked in, that we can decorate with flowers. Maria thought of floating flower arrangements and floating candles. I liked that idea very much. We would have to go back to the florist to add that to the list. The tables would have candles as well. Barbara gave me the menu choices. I told her that I would get back to her on that as I needed to discuss it with Ranger. There was a bar set up in the corner and at the opposite end the dance floor with a platform for a band or DJ. I didn't know what we were going to go with yet.

After lunch, it was over to the bakery for cake tasting.

________________

The cake tasting was good. I mean really good. I must have tried two dozen different cakes with different fillings. We decided to go with a yellow cake with tiramisu filling and chocolate cake with a raspberry filling. I just need to decide on how the cake would look and how many people we planned on having so that we could decide how big. Each tier would be a different cake with a different filling.

My mom suggested having a groom's cake. Maria thought that was a great idea and she suggested a tres leche cake. Which is a cake made from three different kinds of milk. She said that when Ranger was little it was his favorite cake. So we went with that in a black tuxedo style. That was easy.

I found the perfect cake top. It had the bride and groom holding guns. I think they were supposed to be spies but I thought that fit with what Ranger and I did for a living. Even though I hate guns. My mom was not impressed.

"Stephanie, you can't have that on top of your cake." She admonished.

"Why not? It fits perfectly with the type of job we do." I explained.

"You don't do that type of work anymore." She said. "At least I hope you don't. You have a family now. You need to get a more respectable job."

"Mom, I work for RangeMan. I may not be hauling in skips anymore but I still do the searching to find those skips. I still carry a gun."

"You have a baby! You need to get rid of that gun! You don't want something bad to happen if he gets a hold of the gun."

"Mom, it is required as part of the job to carry a gun. And our guns are locked up at night."

"I still don't like it. You read in the paper everyday about children playing with guns and someone getting hurt or worse."

"Mom, if I was marrying Joe there still would be guns in the house. Now help me pick out a style for the wedding cake. I didn't realize how many different ways you can have a wedding cake."

We finally picked out the style of cake. Of course it will have white frosting and trimmed with black.

_______________

"Thank you, Maria, for all your help today. I think we accomplished a lot. Let me know if you would like me to go with you to pick out a dress." I said as I hugged her.

"Oh, you're welcome my dear." Then she whispered. "I like that cake top you picked out." I smiled at her. "I will give you a call. I know you are busy. You don't have to come with me."

"Not at all. I may have to bring Ricky with me. But I won't be the one trying on dresses."

Maria got into her car and waved as she drove off. My mom and I got into the Crossfire.

"Thank you, Mom. It really helped to have your input." I said to her.

"You're welcome. I know this is your wedding. And you have every right to choose what you want. But it means a lot that you were willing to listen to my suggestions."

"I know that I don't always agree with you. But I still value your input. I just don't like it when you take over and run the show and do things your way."

"So what is next? Do you have a photographer and videographer yet?"

"No, I guess that should be my next project. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I don't know of anybody off hand. But let me check with a few of my friends and see who did their children's weddings. If that is all right with you?"

"Mom, I will take any suggestions or recommendations. Then I will look into it and then make a decision. I am sure Carlos will want security background checks done."

We drove the rest of the way home. Mom filling me in on some of the Burg gossip. Luckily none of it was about me for a change.

________________

After I dropped mom off at home. I hurried to RangeMan to see how Ricky was. I was a little stunned that I didn't get a call. I pulled into the garage and parked in one of the spots that was reserved for me. I noticed that Ranger's cars were still there. So either he was in his office or he was out with one of the guys. I couldn't tell by the sea of black SUV's who was and wasn't in. I got out and got in the elevator and press the button for the sixth floor. The elevator stopped on the fifth floor. When the doors opened there stood Ranger holding Ricky.

"Hi Babe. Did you have a good day?" He asked as he gave me a kiss.

"Yeah, actually I did. And how is my little man? Did he have a good day?"

Ricky stretched out his arms to me, so I took him from Ranger.

"Aren't you going to ask how my day was, Babe?" Ranger said in a hurtful tone.

"How was your day? Did your meetings go well? Did you get any new accounts?"

"Yes, actually we did. I am going to need your assistance for one. I want to see what your spidey-sense tells you. We are going to be setting up a security system for someone you know quite well."

"Oh, who?"

"Your ex-husband."

"What? You can't be serious. He wants RangeMan to handle security for him?"

Yep. We can discuss this tomorrow. Right now I just want to get my family home, have dinner, play with Ricky and then play with you." He gave me his wolf grin. "So what did you buy?"

"Well, I have samples of wedding cake for you to try. I picked out the figurines for on top of the wedding cake that I think, or at least hope you'll like." I said as I handed the bags to him.

He looked inside the bags and when he found the one with the cake top in he pulled it out to look at it. He laughed when he saw it.

"Babe, only you. You never disappoint."

"I thought that represented us pretty well."

"Actually, it would be a better representation with you covered in garbage or standing next to a car that is on fire."

"Hey, I haven't been covered in garbage or had a car explode in over a year."

"Does your dress look like this?"

"Well, let's just say that there isn't a thigh high slit in my dress. This is a wedding in a church. Not a distraction job in a bar. Um, am I going to have to have a gun sticking in my garter?"

"I don't know, Babe. Depends if there are any stalkers lurking about at that time."

"Great. I need to stop up and see Ella and get a report on how Ricky was."

"O.K. I'll go and shut down my computer and let the guys know we are leaving for the day. I'll meet you in the garage."

**TBC** **Chapter 7 - Julie Comes To Visit**


	7. Chapter 7

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 7  
****Julie Comes To Visit**

We were waiting at the airport for Julie's plane to land. Can't believe it was spring break already. Seemed like it was just Christmas and Ranger came home. Now it was almost Easter.

We heard the squeals before we could actually see her as she made her way up to where we were waiting.

"Ranger! Steph!" She yelled. We finally spotted her as she ran around some people. She made her way to Ranger first and threw her arms around him. "Oh it is so good to see you again. Thanks for inviting me."

"It's good to see you again too, Julie. I missed you." It had been over a year and a half that Ranger had seen Julie. They kept in touch by email and phone but hadn't seen each other since before he left on his last mission. "I think you've grown quite a bit since I saw you last."

"Yeah, I guess I have. I am almost as tall as mom now." She pulled away and turned to Steph.

"Oh my God, Steph. It really has been a long time since I saw you." She hugged me. "And this is my little half brother. Thank you for sending me pictures and updates of Ricky. Can I hold him?"

I handed Ricky to her. "Hi Ricky. I'm your big sister, Julie."

"Here, I'll take your carry-on and you can carry Ricky." I said. We turned and headed for the baggage claim area to get the rest of her luggage.

________________

Julie sat in back with Ricky. She had him laughing and giggling. She made faces at him and played peek-a-boo with him. We stopped at Ranger's parent's house for a late lunch so they could see Julie.

"Abuela! Abuelo!" Julie shouted as she got out of the car.

"Hello, my dear. How are you? It is good to see you." Maria said as she hugged her granddaughter.

"I am fine, Abuela. It is good to see you too." She turned to Ricardo and gave him a hug.

"Hola, querida. Did you have a good flight?" Ricardo asked.

"It was O.K. Going through security is a pain. You have to take your shoes off. You can only have so much liquid in your carry-on. They search your bag and then you have to go through the metal detectors. It is just a pain."

Ranger and I had made our way up to the door after getting Ricky out of the car and grabbing the diaper bag.

"There's my little guy." Maria said as she took Ricky in his carrier. "Did you meet your big sister?"

"He is so cute. I can't believe that he is this big already. Steph sent me pictures. But it can't compare to seeing him in person."

"We wanted you to come for the baptism, but we didn't want you to miss any school. We knew that being here for just the weekend wouldn't be long enough." I said to her.

"I know. But I am going to be here for the wedding. Regardless of school."

"Well, lunch is ready. We can sit down and eat." Maria said.

"No one else is coming?" Julie asked.

"No, Carlos made it perfectly clear the last time everyone got together for dinner that he would prefer not to have everyone here." Maria answered.

"Was there a problem?"

"Let's just say that not everyone is happy about Ricky and Carlos and me getting married." I threw in.

"Oh." Julie said.

"Your aunts and uncle were not too kind to Stephanie. Some not nice things were said to her and Carlos and behind their backs. I don't want to repeat what was said."

"How can anyone not like Steph? Especially when she helped me when I was kidnapped. And how can anyone not love this little guy?" Julie said tickling Ricky.

"I don't know Jules. But let's not dwell on it and just eat." I said.

"So how are the wedding plans coming? Do I get to see the dresses?" Julie asked me.

"The wedding plans are going well. We have the church, the hall; the flowers and the cake are picked out. Next we have to pick a photographer and a videotographer. Carlos and I need to finalize the dinner menu and decide on type of vows we want. Whether to go with traditional or write our own." I said. "I made an appointment with the bridal shop for you to get measured and to see the dresses. Is tomorrow O.K. with you?"

"Great. I can't wait. You said that you are going with a black and white theme. That is so cool"

"You are about the only one who thinks so. I've gotten a lot of flak from others about our color choice."

"It's your wedding. You should be able to choose what you want."

"Yeah, you would think. But everyone has to let their opinions be known. And several have tried to change my mind. But I have stood fast and told them that this is Carlos and my decision."

Ranger had been very quiet throughout lunch. I looked over at him to see if I could tell what was bothering him. As usual he had his blank face on.

After lunch, I went to a spare bedroom to feed Ricky. Ranger came into the bedroom. Julie was helping clear the table and talking to Maria.

"Hey Babe." He said as he settled against the headboard. I scooted over to him and he put his arm around me as I held Ricky while he nursed.

"You want to tell me what is bothering you?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Carlos, I know something is bothering you. You hardly spoke at lunch, although you are a man of a few words. To Julie it is probably normal. But I know something is bothering you."

"It's just odd to see my teenage daughter and my infant son together. There is such an age difference. She could be his mother when you think about it."

"Bite your tongue. You don't want to become a grandfather yet."

"I am still trying to come to terms with being a father. A real father. I didn't have the hands on experience with her. I missed so much of her life. She is still pretty much a stranger. I guess I feel guilty that I wasn't there for her."

"I understand. But you've grown closer to her these past couple of years. You're getting to know her. It's not like she was deprived of a happy family growing up. She still had two loving parents. Even though one of her parents wasn't her biological father. She still got to know your family from what your mom has told me. She maybe is even luckier than most because she has three families that love and care for her."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Don't go beating yourself up. You did what you thought was the right thing to do at the time. Your life was not your own. Even if you and Rachel had stayed married, you would not have been around while Julie was growing up. You were in the military. If anything it probably would have been worse for her. Moving to different bases. Having to make new friends every couple of years. Having to say goodbye to old friends. Going to different schools. This way she had a stable home life. She went to the same school. Had the same friends."

"I know. But it is still weird to have a teenage daughter and an infant son."

"Well I am sure we aren't the first couple to have that happen. I am sure we won't be the last. It's what happens when you have children so young. It's not that we are too old to become parents. We aren't in our fifties and having a child and looking at retirement."

There was a knock on the door. "Steph? Ranger?" Julie called.

"Just a minute." I called.

"Babe. Ricky is still nursing."

"Actually he is done." I handed Ricky to Ranger. I quickly put myself back together. "Come in."

Julie entered the room. "I'm sorry, were you breast feeding?"

"Yeah. I won't be doing it too much longer. He is getting bigger and I am not producing enough."

"Wow. That is so cool. I didn't think women breast fed anymore. You know with working and all."

"Well it helps when you work at a place that allows you to bring your baby to work." I looked at Ranger. "And it is better for the baby to get breast milk as opposed to formula. But some women can't breast feed and some don't want to. It shouldn't reflect as to whether they are a good mother or not. Everyone should do with what they are comfortable with. I didn't know if I wanted to breast feed or not. It wasn't until I tried it that I found that I liked the bonding that it gave me to Ricky. I will miss it."

"I think I will take Ricky and go see his Abuela." Ranger said. He quickly left the room. He seemed to be uncomfortable with the discussion that was going on.

"Sit down Julie." I said to her.

"Did you want to have a baby?" Julie asked.

"Oh God, no. I always said I didn't want kids. Ricky just happened. He wasn't planned."

"Were you scared?"

"Yes, very much so. Carlos was gone. We had just moved in together. We had only been together for about six months. I was afraid of what he would say and do. Both of us had said in the past we didn't want kids. But that was before we were a couple. Everything was new for us but we hadn't discussed the future. Were we going to get married and have a family? We were more or less taking it one day at a time. Partly, I think, because your dad still had his obligation to the government. I thought about an abortion. But then I thought, what if Carlos doesn't come back? I would still have a part of him with having his child. So I decided to go ahead with the pregnancy."

"I take it he wasn't too upset about Ricky."

"No, he was stunned. He was gone for over a year. He missed out on the pregnancy part. He wished he could have been there to see me get fat and to feel our child moving inside. He wasn't too thrilled that I named the baby after him, but he understood why I did it."

"Are you planning on have any more kids?"

"We hadn't talked about it. I think we are going to wait until after we are married see what happens. We already have one child together. And he has you. He may not want any more."

"What about you?"

"I don't know. I am still scared at times. Am I doing things right? Is he getting the attention he needs? I panic at the first sign of a sniffle. I am sure it is all due to being a first time mom."

"Do you regret it?"

"Sometimes. It has definitely changed my life. But I can't imagine my life without him now. But I don't want you to go out and get pregnant just so you can experience that. You have plenty of time. I'm in my thirties. There are so many other things to experience first before becoming a mother. Remember, that once you have a baby, that baby is with you for a long time."

"I know. Mom lectures me all the time about that."

"Well Julie, you are of that age where kids want to try things, like sex and drugs. They can get into a lot of trouble because of it. We don't want to see you ruin your plans for school and college because you got pregnant or addicted to drugs."

There was a knock on the door. Ranger poked his head in. "Hey, I think we should be going home."

"O.K. Ranger. Let me say goodbye to Abuela."

I joined them in the living room.

"Goodbye, querida." Ricardo said as he hugged Julie goodbye. "We will see you soon."

"Bye, Abuelo. Bye Abuela." She said as she walked out the door.

"Bye Mama. Bye Papa" Ranger said.

"Will you come for dinner before Julie leaves?" Maria asked.

"We'll see. I can't make any promises." Ranger replied.

"If Carlos can't make it, I can make sure that we stop off on our way to the airport." I said.

Ranger just gave me a look. We walked out the door. He stopped me.

"What was that?" He asked.

"What was what?"

"Why did you say 'if Carlos can't make it'? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it means. If you can't make it."

"Babe, did it ever occur to you that my parents have seen Julie a lot more than I have. And that maybe I would like to spend as much time with my daughter as I can. I know I can't make up the time I lost with her, but while she is here, I would like it to be just us. You, me, Julie and Ricky. I don't want to share her with the rest of the family."

"I'm sorry, Carlos. I didn't realize you felt like this. Does that mean you are going to take time off from work?"

"I thought I would work part-time. I know you are taking Julie for dress measurements and such but then I thought we could do something as a family. Maybe spend some time in New York for a couple of days. I know it is too cold for the beach or any water parks but maybe go to a museum or to a movie or a show or something."

"I think that is a wonderful idea."

"Hey! Are you two coming?" Julie yelled from the car.

I snapped Ricky in the base and got in and buckled up. Ranger started the car and we headed for home. Our little family.

________________

Early the next morning, Ranger and I were sharing some quiet time. We woke up at the same time now. Ranger to go for his run and me to tend to Ricky. We usually spent the time before Ricky wakes up just to hold each other. We would talk about things, like the wedding, or what our schedule for the day is going to be. Sometimes we would use the time for a quick romp. But too often we would be interrupted in the middle of it. So we saved the love making for the nights. I knew Ricky would be waking up soon.

"Julie asked if we were planning on having any more kids." I told him.

"What did you say?"

"I told her I didn't know. That you and I hadn't discussed it."

"What do you want? Do you want to have another baby?"

"I don't know. Do you?"

"I thought Julie was going to be it. Then you surprised me with Ricky. I would be happy if that is all we had."

"So, you don't want to have any more."

"I didn't say that. I said I would be happy with just two. If you want to have another baby that would be O.K. with me. I missed out on the births of both my children. I would like to witness that at least once in my lifetime."

"So you do want to have another one."

"Babe, I want what you want. If you want one or three or six more then I would love to have them with you."

"Oh God, six? I could possibly handle one or two more. But six? If you want six you can have them yourself."

"Babe, I am not exactly equipped for that." He gave me a kiss. The kiss progressed and soon hands were caressing. Then a wail came from the baby monitor.

"You do realize that with more kids our time for each other is going to be limited even more." I said with a sigh.

"We will just have to sneak off at work and head up the seventh floor apartment at lunch time."

"I don't know which will be worse. Trying to sneak around the kids or the Merry Men."

"You have a point." The wail grew louder.

"I need to get him before he wakes Julie and you should go for your run."

"Let him wake up Julie. Then she can watch him while we take a shower together." He said with a hopeful and lustful grin.

"Go for your run. Hopefully she will be awake when you get back. I really could use a shower when you get back." I said trying to tamp down the hormones. I grabbed my robe from the foot of the bed and went across the hall to Ricky's room.

________________

Julie came into the kitchen as I was getting Ricky's cereal ready.

"I'm sorry, did Ricky wake you?"

"No, actually I was awake waiting until I heard everyone else moving around." She said.

"Ranger went for a run. What would you like for breakfast? I can make scrambled eggs and bacon. There is some cereal in the cupboard. That is about all I can offer you until Miranda gets here."

"Who's Miranda?" Julie asked.

"She is our housekeeper. She doesn't live here. We usually do our own thing for breakfast. She comes right before we leave for work. She does the cleaning and she cooks us our dinner. She sometimes has something pre-made for us in the morning but because we didn't eat here last night she got to leave early."

"Oh, well scrambled eggs and bacon sound good."

"You want to feed Ricky while I start getting our breakfast made?"

"Uh, I don't think. . ."

"Ricky gets cereal and fruit in the morning. Today it's bananas."

"Oh, I thought. . ."

"I told you that I don't breast feed him that much anymore. He is eating more solids now. He breast feeds maybe once a day. I sometimes use the pump. I have some breast milk stored in the freezer. I mix his cereal with it and then he gets the rest of it in a bottle. And I use formula when I have to."

"Yeah, I'd like to feed him."

I handed her the bowl of cereal and the bowl of mashed up bananas and a baby spoon.

"Don't worry if he doesn't eat it all. Some days he can be a piggy. And other days he acts like he is stuffed."

She started to feed him and he was really hungry. I got started on the bacon. Ranger got back. He saw Julie was feeding Ricky. He looked at me. I know what he was asking. "I just started breakfast. Why don't we eat first?" He seemed to accept that. We sat down and ate as soon as it was ready. Ricky had finished his breakfast and was content just to sit in the highchair while we ate playing with his spoon. As soon as the dishes were put in the dishwasher, Ranger headed for the stairs.

"Julie, do you think you can watch Ricky while Ranger and I get ready? Then when we're done you can shower while I give Ricky his bath."

"Sure Steph."

"He has toys in the toy box in the family room. There are books in the bookcase if you want to read to him."

"O.K. I think I can entertain him while you get ready." She looked at me with a knowing smile.

I headed upstairs. Ranger was waiting for me with the shower running. Soon we were both in frenzy. I hoped the shower was drowning out the moaning.

**TBC Chapter 8 - Lunch At Pino's**


	8. Chapter 8

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 8  
****Lunch At Pino's**

Soon everyone was dressed and ready for the day. Miranda arrived right before we left. I introduced her to Julie.

"Mr. Carlos and Ms. Stephanie have been telling me all about you. I am glad to finally meet you. I hope your room is to your liking. Maybe we can redecorate so that it is more you." Miranda said.

"Thank you, Miranda. The room is fine. Maybe when I come this summer we can work on changing a few things." Julie responded.

"Babe, are you taking Ricky with you today?" Ranger asked.

"Yes. Are you going to be around for lunch? Maybe we can meet somewhere."

"I think that I can find time for lunch. Where and when?"

"Pino's? Say 12:30?"

"See you then Babe." Ranger gave me a kiss.

"Julie, have fun with Steph today. I'll see you at lunch." He gave her a kiss on top of her head.

"Little man, be good for your mommy today. Have fun with your big sister." He gave the baby a kiss on the forehead. He stopped to give me another kiss and then he was gone.

"Well." I said as I tried to compose myself. "Let me get my things and we can leave."

I raced up the stairs and grabbed my purse, made sure I had everything. I grabbed the dress information and went back downstairs.

Julie had Ricky's jacket on and had him strapped in the carrier. She had her coat on and was waiting for me. Miranda had gone off to start her day. I had my composure back after this morning with Ranger.

"O.K. Let's get going." I said as I picked up the carrier and headed for the SUV.

________________

We pulled up in front of Tina's Bridal Shoppe. Julie hopped out and looked at me and back at the store.

"Are you sure this is where you are getting the dresses? I was expecting something in the City not some quaint little shoppe."

"Yes, Tina can get dresses from all over and cheaper too. Why pay higher price for the same dress?"

We entered the shoppe. Tina came from the back room.

"Hi Stephanie. This must be your future stepdaughter."

"Hi Tina. Yes, this is Julie. Julie, this is Tina."

"Hi." Julie said.

"And is this your son? You didn't have him with you when you were here. He is adorable. Well, let's go in back and I will get the dresses to try on and then I will get measurements. Oh, and before I forget, Steph, your dress just arrived. I was going to call you, but then I remembered you were coming in today."

"Wow. That was fast." I said.

"You can try it on and show Julie. We won't do any alterations until we get closer to the date."

I settled on the floor with Ricky while Julie went to try on the dresses.

"Now, Julie, don't mind the color of the dresses. They all can be ordered in black. We can add some white ribbon for a sash or something so the dress will be black and white. When you see Stephanie's dress, you will understand. Now this is what the bridesmaids dress are going to look like." Tina held up the strapless dress in red. "Now remember the dress will be black and this part here will be white." Pointing to the pleat. "The shawl will be black on one side and white on the other." Tina explained. "The bridesmaids are going to wear white elbow length gloves."

"Ooh, can I have gloves and a shawl too?" Julie asked.

"Sure." I responded. I looked at Tina to make sure about the shawl.

"I can get material and make a smaller shawl for Julie." Tina acknowledged.

Julie tried on the dresses we had selected for her to try and she picked the one she liked best. It happened to be the one I liked too. Tina went and got some white satin ribbon and showed us how we can add white to the black dress. Tina then took Julie's measurements and filled out the order form for the dress.

"O.K. Steph. Want to try on your dress and show Julie?"

"O.K." I got up to go to the dressing room. Tina went in the back room to get the dress. Julie sat down on the floor with Ricky.

Tina helped me with the dress. And when I walked out to the showroom, Julie just gasped.

"Wow! Stephanie. That dress looks amazing on you!" Julie shouted. "My dad is going to die when he sees you."

"Oh God, I hope not. I would like to at least get to the honeymoon before that happens."

"Mumum." Ricky said. Ricky said his first word. I smiled at him.

Tina check the dress for fit. "We shouldn't have to do too much on the alterations. Provided you don't gain or lose too much weight."

"Yeah, well it is still a ways off. A lot can happen."

"You aren't thinking of getting pregnant again, are you?" Tina asked.

"Oh God, no. Not for a while at least. Carlos and I just started talking about it."

"Good, cause there's really not much I can do here if I need to allow for expanded waistline except order a larger dress size."

I changed out of the dress. I put a deposit down on Julie's dress and made another payment on mine.

We stopped off at my parent's house. It had been a couple of days since Ranger and I were there for supper. I thought that with the lunch plans we would have a good excuse to leave early.

My mom was at the door as soon as we walked up the steps.

"Stephanie! What a nice surprise. Come in." My mom called out. She made it sound as though I just flew in from across the country.

"Hi Mom. I don't know if you ever met Carlos' daughter, Julie. Julie, this is my mom Helen Plum. And this is my grandma, Edna Mazur." I said as we entered the living room.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Julie." My mom said. "I have heard a lot about you."

"You are definitely Ranger's daughter. You look just like him. He is one good looking hot man." Grandma said. "I wouldn't mind getting some loving from him."

"Grandma!" I cried out. "Julie doesn't need to hear that." I cringed at the thought of my stepdaughter thinking that everyone had the hots for her father. "We just got done at the bridal shoppe." Thinking that I would try and change the subject. "My dress is already in. And Julie picked the dress that I thought she would look good in. So we got that ordered."

"That's good. Are you staying for lunch?" Helen asked.

"No, we're meeting Carlos at Pino's. I just wanted to stop in and say hi and to introduce you to Julie."

"Well, she is going to be part of the family in a couple of months. Is she going to be coming to visit often?"

"We hope so."

"And what does she think of her little brother?" Grandma asked.

"I think he is adorable." Julie said.

"Do you think you can come for dinner some night so Julie can meet her future cousins?" Helen asked.

"I don't know Mom. I will have to ask Carlos. He wanted Julie to spend the time with us, not with all the rest of the families. He wants to get to know her a little better. He wants to spend a few days in New York, shopping and sightseeing, maybe seeing a show."

"What about Ricky? You can't take him to a Broadway show."

"I don't know Mom. I haven't really thought about it."

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to leave him with us. It will be good for you. And for him, seeing you will be away from each other while you are on your honeymoon."

"I know Mom, but it was hard to be away from him that day when we were in New Brunswick. I never thought that I would be so attached to someone, especially a baby. I always said that I didn't want kids. But now, I can't be away from him more than a couple of hours."

"Mumum." Ricky said again.

"He said his first word." I gushed. "He said momma."

"I knew that once you had a baby you would feel that way. You were so adamant that you didn't want kids. Look at what you would have missed out on."

"So are you and that hunk of yours planning on having anymore babies?" Grandma asked.

"We've talked a little about it. He would like to have at least another one. He said that he missed out on the birth of both his kids and he would like to witness at least one birth in his lifetime."

"So we can expect a honeymoon baby!" Grandma said.

"Grandma! I don't know."

"We shouldn't be talking about this in front of the children." Helen said.

"Besides we should be going." I said in a hurry to get out of there.

"Stephanie, think about leaving Ricky with us when you go to New York. It'll be good for you. And then you and Carlos can both get to know Julie better without having to bring the baby along. You can do more with Julie. Museums and shows and shopping. Bye Julie. It was nice to finally meet you." Helen said.

"Bye Mrs. Plum. Bye, uh Mrs. Mazer." Julie said.

"Bye Mom. Bye Grandma. I'll talk to Carlos. I'll let you know what we decide." I said as I grabbed Ricky's carrier.

We got to the SUV. Julie turned to me.

"Is your grandma always so. . . uh. . .bold?" Julie asked.

"Yeah. She talks about anything and everything. Especially, if it has to do with sex. Today was a good day. There are some days where I want to crawl into a hole and die. That usually happens when your dad is here or one of his men. And my mom can be just as bad, especially when it comes to marriage and having kids. She wanted me to marry someone else. Since I had Ricky and am now getting married she has backed off some."

________________

We arrived at Pino's. Ranger was already there at the back table. Julie sat next to Ranger and I sat across from him with Ricky beside me. The waitress came to take our order. Julie and I were sharing an extra-large pizza with sausage, mushrooms and onions. Ranger had his usual salad.

"So, how was the dress fitting?" Ranger asked.

"It went well." I said.

"Oh my God! You should see Steph in her dress. She looked absolutely amazing in it. I can't wait for the wedding." Julie gushed.

"You saw her in _the_ dress?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, her actual dress." Julie said.

"My dress arrived already." I informed him.

"You are going to die when you see her. And her hair and make-up wasn't even done and she looked stunning."

"So what does this dress look like?" Ranger asked.

"It's white." Julie said.

"Is that all?" He pressed.

"I can't tell you. You will have to wait and see it on the day of the wedding." Julie said smugly.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ranger and his spawn. Don't you all make a cute family. This could be a Kodak moment."

I looked over and saw Joe Morelli standing at our table.

"Hello, Joe." I said coldly.

"Hello, Cupcake. I see that Ranger's other spawn is here. Is there another threat on her life or is she here because Ranger wants her here?"

"Morelli." Ranger growled.

"No, there is no threat to Julie. She is here visiting. She came to see her little brother and to get measured for her dress for the wedding." I said.

"Ah yes, the wedding." He said. "So Ranger, are you really going to go through with it? When is the divorce going to take place? Are you going to wait awhile, or is it going to take place shortly after the ceremony?"

"Morelli, I suggest to leave while you can still do by your own power. Or I will physically do it myself." Ranger said.

"Are you threatening a cop?"

"Joe. . ." I started.

"It's not a threat but a promise. Now stop harassing my family."

"Joe, please leave." I finally got in.

"This is a public restaurant. I can be here if I want." Joe said smugly.

I saw Carl and Eddie start over to us.

"I told you to stop harassing my family." Ranger said again.

"I believe you gave up your parental rights to your daughter. And Steph isn't legally attached to you yet. Are you going to give up your parental rights to your son too?"

I saw Julie cringe at that.

"Joe that is enough!" I shouted.

"Hey Joe, I think it's time for you to leave." Eddie said as he grabbed one of Joe's arms.

"Come on Joe. We don't need a fight here. There are children here that could get hurt."

Carl said taking the other arm. Joe shook them off. But he didn't say anything more.

"I'm sorry." I said to Ranger as I reached for his hand across the table. "I shouldn't have picked here for lunch. I should have realized after I met with him, that he would still be angry."

Our pizza arrived and I wasn't hungry anymore. "Can we get this boxed to go?" I asked the waitress.

"Sure." she said. "Would you like your salad to go too, sir?"

"Yes, please." Ranger said.

We sat there quietly, not talking. The waitress brought our lunch back to us all wrapped up. Ranger paid the bill and we all left.

"Where are you heading now, Babe?" Ranger asked.

"I thought we would go to RangeMan and finish our lunch. Maybe I'll get my appetite back. And then I thought Julie and I would hit the mall."

"O.K. Babe. See you at RangeMan." He left in his car. And I followed with Julie and Ricky.

________________

"So, I take it that was your ex-boyfriend?" Julie stated.

"Yeah." I replied.

"He doesn't like my dad much does he?"

"No, he doesn't."

"Why? I thought that they were sort of in the same line of work. You know bringing in bad guys."

"Joe always thought that your dad was a loose cannon. A thug. He had the impression that all your dad's cars were either stolen and gotten illegally. He didn't like your dad helping me out when I needed it. And he definitely didn't like that I fell in love with your dad and chose your dad over him." I informed her.

"How did you meet my dad? I don't think I ever learned that. I know he mentioned helping out some new bounty hunter but I didn't know it was you."

"I was out of work. I blackmailed my cousin into hiring me to work at his bail bonds office. I had no idea what I was doing. My first skip was Joe."

"Wait. I thought Joe is a cop."

"He is. He was wanted because they thought he killed someone and not in the line of duty. So Connie, who is the office manager and one of my best friends and who is one of my bridesmaids, called your dad and set up a meeting. Let me tell you when I first met your dad, he scared me. I was rather intimidated by him. But he guided me as to what to do. Helped me bring in some of my skips. He got shot a few times helping me. Loaned me cars when I needed them. We eventually became friends. I could always count on him when I was in over my head with either bodyguards or a place to stay. Eventually we fell in love. I found that I loved two men. Your dad and Joe."

By this time we arrived at RangeMan. "Let's not discuss this while we are here or when your dad is present. It is still a touchy subject as you just witnessed."

"O.K."

We headed up to the apartment but the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. The doors opened and Tank and Lester were there waiting.

"Hey Jules." Lester said.

"Uncle Lester! Uncle Tank!" she ran off the elevator and leaped into Lester's arms for a big hug.

"Wow, have you grown." Lester said. "When was the last time I saw you? Last year I think when Tank and I went down to Miami to check on the office down there. I think you only came up to here." He put his had at his waist. "And now you are here." And he put his hand at his chest.

"I wasn't that small last year." Julie said indignantly.

"You weren't?" Lester said. "I could have sworn you were only that tall."

"Maybe when I was seven. I'm thirteen now."

"Thirteen? You can't be thirteen. Ranger, can she be thirteen now?"

"Yeah, she is." Ranger said, blank faced.

"Where the hell did the time go?"

"Santos, watch your mouth." Ranger growled.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" I asked when I got to his side. Although I think I already knew. It was Joe. We walked to his office leaving Julie to talk with the Merry Men. I handed him Ricky.

"No, Babe."

"It's Joe isn't it? He said all that crap about you giving up your rights to Julie."

"Babe."

"I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry about? You didn't do anything."

"Yeah, I did. I chose to go to Pino's. Even though I knew Joe could be there."

"Babe, we should be able to eat wherever we want. We shouldn't have to check first to see if there is someone there that we don't want to run into."

"I know, but we could have...should have gone to Shorty's. I like their pizza just as much. It's just that it isn't exactly a family restaurant."

"Babe, don't blame yourself because Morelli is acting like an ass. He is fooling himself if he thinks you are ever going to go back to him. I am right, aren't I?"

"What do you think? I am living with you. Had your child. And I am planning a wedding to you. Joe was history over two years ago. If he hasn't moved on in that time then he is a bigger fool than I thought."

"Good to hear." Ranger said before he kissed me.

________________

After lunch, Ella offered to take Ricky so he could nap. Julie and I headed for the mall.

"So what happened with Joe as your skip?"

"I found him, brought him in and helped to clear his name."

"Did my dad help?"

"No, I did it myself."

"So you fell in love with Joe after that?"

"No, Joe and I grew up in the Burg. I've known him practically my whole life. I had a crush on him from an early age. He got me in trouble from time to time. We sorta had a thing in high school. When he got out of school he joined the Navy. When he got out of the service he came back home. And I hit him with my dad's car and broke his leg."

"Why did you do that if you liked him so much?"

"It was payback for something he did to me. Which isn't up for discussion at this time."

"Darn."

"But anyway, after I got my bounty for bringing Joe in, we started to see each other more. We had this on again, off again relationship. We would be dating each other. Then he would get mad at me or I would get mad at him and we would break up. Mostly he would get mad at me. He didn't like my job. He wanted me to find a different job, which I did, but they turned out to be more disastrous then bounty hunting. And he didn't like that your dad was always around. Sooner or later I found that my feelings for your dad were stronger than my feelings for Joe. And so I finally admitted it to myself and to Joe and to your dad. Joe and I broke up. Your dad and I started our relationship. He asked me to move in with him. He got called up on a mission. I found out I was pregnant. Your dad came home a little over a year later and now we are getting married."

"Wow. In a way it is sort of romantic. Being in love with two guys."

"Let me tell you it plays havoc on your emotions. But I don't think I would trade any of it in. I still love Joe. I probably always will. And your dad knows that. So don't worry that I am keeping something from him."

"Are you going to invite Joe to your wedding?"

"I thought that if we could be friends, then yeah, I will. But if he is going to continue acting like a jealous school boy, then no. I don't need a brawl between my husband and my ex at my wedding."

________________

Later that night while we were getting ready for bed, I brought up having Ricky stay with my parents to Ranger.

"Carlos?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"Are you still planning on taking Julie to New York for a few days?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, mom thought it would be better if we didn't take Ricky with us. She offered to watch Ricky while we were gone. She said it would be good for both Ricky and me. To get us ready for when you and I go on our honeymoon."

"I thought we could spend time as a family."

"I know, but if you want to take Julie to a Broadway show we can't very well take Ricky unless you just wanted to be with Julie. Then I could stay at the hotel with Ricky." I was starting to feel like a third wheel.

"Babe, I don't want to exclude you. I want you to get to know and spend time with Julie too. And not just shopping. I think that maybe it would be a good idea to leave Ricky with your parents."

"Are you sure? I mean about me going along with you and Julie to New York."

"Stephanie, you are going to be my wife and Julie's step-mom. Of course I want you with us. While I think it is good for you and Ricky to be apart. I don't think I can be apart from you. Even for a few days." He kissed me then. And then one thing led to another and before we knew it we were basking in the after glow.

"You know that even if we have separate bedrooms while we are in New York we will have to keep the love making to a minimum." Ranger said. "I don't want my daughter to over hear us."

"Ranger, I think she knows what goes on behind closed doors. She is thirteen. I am sure they have sex education classes. And right now she is just down the hall."

"My daughter is not going to have sex until she is thirty. And this room is soundproof."

"Oh my God!"

**TBC Chapter 9 - Ranger Screws Up**


	9. Chapter 9

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 9  
****Ranger Screws Up**

**Steph's POV**

Ranger, Julie and I spent three days in New York City. I missed Ricky terribly, but I knew that it was only three days and that the two weeks Ranger and I will be on our honeymoon would be worse. I hope that Ranger would keep me sufficiently distracted so I wouldn't think about Ricky as much. I called daily for updates on Ricky and would probably do the same while we were on our honeymoon.

While we were in New York we took in the sights. We did the usual touristy things. We went to the top of the Empire State Building. Took a boat ride in the harbor past the Statue of Liberty. We went to Ellis Island. I looked to see if I could find any Plumelli's or Mazur's on any of the passenger lists. We knew that Ranger's family came to the U.S. via Miami so we didn't bother looking for them. We made a stop at ground zero and paid our respects silently as we remembered that horrifying day. We took a horse and carriage ride around Central Park. We had dinner at Tavern on the Green.

We saw three shows on Broadway; "Shrek" and "The Lion King" and of course "The Phantom of the Opera". We went shopping. Boy did we shop. Of course I bought new clothes for Ricky and some toys. We bought Julie some outfits and Ranger bought her a locket and he just happened to have pictures of himself, Ricky and me to put in it. I think he planned to do this. She was so thrilled. She said that she will have us next to heart all the time. Of course Ranger bought me jewelry too. A gorgeous ruby and diamond necklace and earring set. And we picked out our wedding bands. Evidently it was the same jeweler that he bought my engagement ring.

Ranger also bought me a beautiful raspberry red dress to go with the ruby and diamond necklace and earrings. It was a short off-the-shoulder a-line dress in a rich satin. I guess he has something planned for the future. I will have to wait to find out.

Soon it was time to go home. I was anxious to see Ricky, but I survived the three days without him. Who would have thought that a baby would have me in such a tizzy. Me, who didn't want kids much less ever get married again. Being with Ranger has changed me, I think for the better. I guess not really changed me but brought out a different side of me that I didn't know was there. I can't imagine my life without either of them.

Ricky was all smiles when we walked in the door. He let out a shriek when I picked him up. He said 'Mumum'. I guess he missed us too. But mom said he was a good baby while we were gone. He also learned to crawl. Now we are in for trouble. I guess I will need to invest in baby gates to keep him from the stairs. Soon he will be walking.

And soon it was time for Julie to go back home. We headed for the Newark Airport. And true to Ranger's resolve, we didn't stop to see his parents so they could say good-bye. He did spend quite a bit of time alone with Julie over the course of her time with us. I pretended to have a headache and went to bed when I put Ricky to bed so they could be alone. I don't know what they talked about. If Ranger wanted me to know he would have told me. I figured it was between father and daughter. He also spent time with her at the gun range. I don't know if I would have approved if I was her mother, but I know that being part of Ranger's life you had to take precautions and learning about guns and gun safety was part of that. I still spent two hours a week at the gun range myself.

We had a teary good-bye before she had to go through security. She hugged and kissed Ricky. She hugged and kissed me and said I had to send pictures so she wouldn't miss anything. I told her that we will have her come back for Ricky's first birthday. She said she couldn't wait. When she went to hug Ranger I could see how hard it was for him to say good-bye. I could have sworn his eyes got a little misty, but I know better than to say anything to him about it. Then she was gone. We headed back to Trenton in silence. Each in our own thoughts, but he grabbed my hand and held it all the way home.

________________

We got back into our routine. Ranger and I waking up when either the alarm went off or the wail from the baby monitor sounded. He went running. I got Ricky bathed and fed. Then we would share the shower. Drive to work together. Work. Go home. Have dinner. Play with Ricky. Then share the bedtime ritual of bath and a story. And then mommy and daddy time. Oh how I looked forward to mommy and daddy time.

One day Ranger buzzed my cubicle. "Hey, Babe, can you step into my office for a minute?"

"Sure." I said.

I quickly went to his office. "What's up?" I asked.

"Sit down, Babe." He said. Uh-oh I thought. Please don't tell me he is going in the wind.

"Babe, I have to go out of town."

I looked down at my hands in my lap. "For how long?" I whispered.

"A week at most. I need to go to Boston to check on things there and to do some evaluations."

"Oh."

"Babe, I would ask you to go with me, but I need to take care of some things and I just think that you would be more comfortable at home."

"I see. When are you leaving?"

"The sooner I get there and get things done the sooner I can come home."

"O.K." I got up to leave. My mind going a mile a minute. I started thinking of all sorts of things as to why he doesn't want me to go with him. Was there someone there he didn't want me to meet? Was he embarrassed of me that he didn't want anyone else in the company to meet me? Was I now the good little woman who stayed home to take care of the house and kids?

He must have use his ESP again. "Babe, I was going to ask you to join me but I know we just got back from New York and I didn't think you would want to leave Ricky so soon. I don't know if it would be a good idea to bring him along. You would be in a strange city by yourself while I was off taking care of things. I just felt that you would feel better at home. I will be going back there again and you can come then. Then I can introduce you as my wife."

"It's O.K. Carlos. I understand." I left then and headed back to my cubicle. Needless to say I didn't get any more work done. My mind was still reeling.

I decided to go home early. My SUV was in the garage. So I gathered up Ricky and headed for home. I didn't stop to let Ranger know that I was leaving. Tank was just coming back from a job when I got off the elevator.

"Skipping out early I see. Did the boss approve it?" Tank said with a smile.

"Yeah, I want to go home. And no, I didn't tell the boss that I was leaving."

"Uh-oh. You don't look too happy. Trouble in paradise?"

"No, why would you say that?"

"Well I can see that something is bothering you. My guess it has something to do with Ranger because you are leaving without telling him."

"I am sure he has already figured it out. I am surprised he isn't down here to find out why I am leaving early. I gotta go. See you tomorrow Tank."

I got Ricky situated in the SUV and got in. I decided to go to Mary Lou's house first. I pulled out my cell and called her.

________________

**Tank's POV**

I walked into Ranger's office. Ranger looked up from some reports he had been reading.

"What's up?" Ranger asked.

"I just saw Bomber in the garage. She looked like she just lost her best friend. Want to tell me what you did?" Tank said.

"What do you mean? She was fine a little while ago."

"Well it looked like she had been crying. I asked if the boss knew she was leaving and she said that she hadn't told you but that you probably already knew and that you would be heading down to the garage to find out why she was leaving."

"Did she say where she was going? Was Ricky with her?"

"Yeah, she said they were going home."

"She say anything more?"

"Not about why she was crying. I figured you did something and that she was running away from you."

"Shit!"

"So you did do something."

"I told her I was going to go to Boston."

"And she wasn't happy I take it. Why don't you take her with you?"

"That's just it. I told her that she probably didn't want to leave Ricky and that there really wasn't anything for Ricky to do in Boston and that. . ."

"And that what?"

"I said she would be 'more comfortable at home'."

"Shit, Rangeman. What the hell did you say that for? That had to be biggest put down you could have said. You just about said to her that you didn't want her."

"Fuck. Now what?"

"I suggest you get your butt home before you find she moved out. You know how she gets. She is going to read more into that statement than the fact that you aren't very good at words."

"You're right. I just thought that she didn't want to be separated from the baby and that I didn't think bringing him along would be a good idea. I can just imagine what is going through her mind."

________________

**Steph's POV**

"Hey Mare, are you busy?" I asked.

"I am just starting on dinner."

"Can I come over for a bit? I need to talk."

"Sure, I just need to put the roast in the oven and then the rest can wait."

I headed over to Mary Lou's. I got out of the car and got Ricky. When I got to the door, Mary Lou was there waiting.

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise. What did Carlos do?"

"He is leaving for Boston. He said he didn't want to take me with him."

"He said that like that?"

I put Ricky down to play with Mary Lou's kids. "Well, he said that he didn't think I wanted to leave Ricky again and that I would be more comfortable at home. He said that he didn't think it was a good idea to bring Ricky along. He didn't want to leave me in a strange city all alone, while he took care of business. I think he is embarrassed that he got another woman pregnant. He said he will take me after we are married so he can introduce me as his wife."

"Honey, I think you are reading too much into this. He is probably right. You aren't familiar with Boston and there probably isn't much for Ricky to do there. You would just be sitting around wait for him to finish up so he can be with you."

"And what is wrong with that? Maybe I want to spend time with him. Just the two of us. The few days we were in New York were heavenly even with Julie there. There was no rushing to get it done, if you know what I mean. No getting interrupted right in the middle of it with a baby crying." I blushed.

"Honey, I understand totally. It's wham bam, thank you ma'am. Not a whole lot of romance when you have kids. You're always afraid that someone is going to walk in on you."

"He didn't _ask_ me if I would like to go. I would have liked the option. When we were making plans to go to New York, he said that he couldn't be apart from me."

"He probably should have asked if you would like to go. Sometimes men can be thoughtless and arrogant."

"He said a few month back that he wanted me to learn more of the business. But I have yet to see any of that."

"He probably feels that you're busy with Ricky and the wedding."

"And, we have been talking of having another baby."

"Oh my God! For two people who didn't want marriage and kids, that sounds promising."

"Yeah, I was sort of excited about that too, but now it looks like he just wants me home raising the kids. He's no better than Joe."

"Steph, Carlos is nothing like Joe."

"I know. I just. . .This is what Joe always wanted. Lots of kids and me staying at home taking care of them."

"So, how did the talk of having a baby come up?"

"Julie asked me if we were going to have any more kids. I brought it up to Carlos. He said that he wants whatever I want. He did say that he missed the birth of his two kids and he would like to experience it at least once."

"So, it sounds like you are going to have at least one more I take it. Are we talking honeymoon baby?"

I blushed again. "Maybe. I don't know." I hid my face with my hands. Just then my phone rang with the Batman theme.

"Speak of the devil." I said as I reached for my phone. "Yo."

"Babe, where are you?"

"I stopped at Mary Lou's, why?"

"Well, I came home and you aren't here. Tank said you were upset and you were going home."

"Yeah. I needed to talk to Mary Lou. I'll be home later."

"Babe, we need to talk."

"And I said I will be home later." I hung up.

"So. . .?" Mary Lou asked.

"Carlos is at home."

"And. . .?"

"Tank told him I was upset and so he rushed home. I guess he panicked when I wasn't there. He said we need to talk. What if. . .What if. . ."

"What if what?

"What if he has another woman in Boston that he sees."

"Steph. . ."

"Maybe he hasn't told her yet that he is getting married. Maybe he wants to do that and get her out of the picture before he takes me there."

"Steph, you are letting your imagination get away with you. Honey, I think you should go home. You do need to talk with him. Tell him how you feel. Don't keep things bottled up. It doesn't do either of you any good unless you can talk openly with each other."

"You're right. I just feel like he is rejecting me."

"Stephanie, Carlos loves you. He probably didn't think it through and just spouted what he thought you wanted to hear."

I gathered up Ricky. I hugged Mary Lou good-bye. "Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I am glad I could help. Let me know how things turn out."

I got Ricky snapped in and drove home.

________________

Ranger was waiting for me at the door. He took Ricky from me. Miranda was still there. Ranger handed Ricky off to her and she took his coat off and then went into the kitchen with him.

"Babe." Ranger engulfed me in his arms. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you took off."

He led me to the sofa in the living room. "We agreed to work our problems out. Not run away." I said.

"So why did you go to Mary Lou's?" He asked.

"I needed to vent. I needed to talk some things out."

"Why didn't you just come to me?"

"Because sometimes you only see things your way." I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I like to make my own decisions? Why couldn't you have ask if I wanted to go with you to Boston instead of telling me that I didn't want to go?" I continued.

"I know you don't like to leave Ricky. I was thinking of you."

"Well, you thought wrong. Yes, I don't like to leave Ricky, but I also know that we--you and me--need time alone together. Does that make sense?"

"I don't know, Babe, what are you trying to say?"

"When we were in New York, we had some alone time, even though Julie was there. We finally had a couple of nights to ourselves where we. . ." I hesitated.

"Go on." He started to smirk.

"Where we could enjoy each other. We weren't rushed. We could take our time. There was no baby crying and interrupting right in the middle of it."

"Are you talking about making love?"

I blew out some air. "Yeah. Do you realize that since you have been home, which has been what. . . four months, we have had sex but we haven't made love? The couple of days in New York was the first time in a long time that we actually took the time to reacquaint ourselves with each other since before you left."

"I take it you have been deprived?"

"Yeah, God this isn't easy to talk about. I am not saying that I am a nymphomaniac. It's just that we used to have passion with our love making, but now it is wham, bam, thank you ma'am."

"'Wham, bam, thank you ma'am'?"

"Yeah. Those were Mary Lou's words. That is how she described having sex when you have kids. But anyway back to my point. I would like to go with you to Boston. To spend time with you. I am sure it hasn't been easy for you either coming back and finding a family. I thought that it would be good for us. But you didn't ask if I wanted to go or not. You just said I would be more comfortable at home. It made me feel like all I was to you was a nursemaid, taking care of the baby. And then I got the feeling you didn't want the other offices to meet me, like you were embarrassed by me."

"Babe, I am never embarrassed by you. Amused yes, but you have never embarrassed me."

"But that is what it felt like when you said you didn't want me to go with you. Then I started thinking that maybe you have someone up there that you. . .you. . ."

"Have been seeing? Like sleep with someone else?"

"Yeah." I looked down at my hands.

"Babe. There isn't anyone. Hasn't been anyone since I met you."

I smiled on the inside at that statement. "And then there is the fact you wanted me to learn the business. Why haven't you included me in any of the meetings? I thought you wanted me to help with Dickie's new security?"

"You've been busy with wedding plans and Ricky. I put off Dickie's new security until

I. . . we get back from Boston."

I looked upped at him. "You want me to go with you?"

"Babe, if you want to go with me, yes. I'm sorry, Babe. I wasn't thinking. If you want to come with me so we can spend some time together, then I would love to have you with me."

"I'm sorry. I guess I still have a lot of insecurities when it comes to us. I am so afraid of you rejecting me again, that. . ." I started to tear up.

"Babe, I love you. I am never going to let you go." He kissed me then. After we pulled apart he said. "Anything else that we need to clear up?"

"No, I think we've taken care of it. . .for now. But I do think that we need to get away once a month, just you and me. I don't care where we go. Point Pleasant, Cape May, Atlantic City. New York. We need time for us."

"I couldn't agree more." He kissed me again.

**TBC** **Chapter 10 - Boston**


	10. Chapter 10

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 10  
****Boston**

Ranger and I were leaving the next day for Boston.I was finishing up packing things for Ricky. He was going to be staying with the Manoso's this time. But this time we were going to be gone about a week, so there was more to pack.

I had the portable crib/playpen, two mega packs of diapers, a suitcase full of clothes, another with his toys, a cooler for the pumped milk, and jars of fruits and vegetables and a couple boxes of cereal. I had the diaper bag packed with more diapers, spit-up cloths, pacifiers, baby Tylenol, baby ora-gel, baby bottles, bibs and anything I could think of that they may need.

Then I started working on my packing. I packed some RangeMan uniforms. Some other casual clothes. Some nice dresses for dinners out. And some new sexy lingerie. I was really looking forward to our time together. I know that Ranger would be working most of the days and I thought that maybe I could help while I was there doing searches, but I was hoping that the nights would just be for us.

I snapped the lock on my suitcase when Ranger walked into the room. "All packed Babe?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Is all that stuff by the door just for Ricky?"

"Yeah."

"Babe."

"What?" Your parents are going to need stuff. We are going to be gone for a week."

"I am sure they have things at their house. They have many grandchildren that come over."

"Yes, but some of that stuff is old and probably doesn't meet the safety codes anymore. Which reminds me I need to get the booster seat that I bought."

"Why a booster seat?"

"It's a portable seat that straps to any chair. It has a tray in front and then as Ricky gets bigger we can take the tray off and push him right up to the table. I thought we can use it when we go out to eat or to our families' houses for dinners."

"Why can't we use the high chairs at the restaurants when we go out? Why do we need to bring our own booster seat along."

"Do you know what kind of germs are on the high chairs? They certainly don't wipe them off. Have you ever watched at a restaurant? They come and take the high chair and just set if off on the side and never once do they wipe it down."

"Babe."

"What? There are enough germs out there that we have to deal with. Why invite trouble?"

_______________

That night as I was getting Ricky ready for bed, he felt a little warm. I gave him some baby Tylenol and put him to bed.

"Ricky feels a little warm. I wonder if he is coming down with something."

"Did you give him something?"

"Yeah, I gave him baby Tylenol. It could be teething."

"What do you want to do, Babe?"

"Let's wait until morning. It could be nothing or it could be the start of a cold."

"O.K. Let's get some sleep. We have to get up at the crack of dawn so we can get Ricky to my parents in plenty of time so you can say good-bye and still catch our plane."

________________

The next morning, I went to get Ricky up. He still felt warm. I picked him up.

"Hey, Little Man, are you getting a cold? Are you teething?"

I met Ranger in the hall. "How is he?"

"He still feels a little warm. I don't know what to do?"

"Babe, why don't you stay home? You will only worry yourself to death if you go."

"But I was looking forward to this."

"There will be other trips."

"I know." I whined.

"Babe, take care of Ricky. He should be your number one priority."

"You're right. It wouldn't be fair to your parents to drop off a sick kid."

"I'll unload the car." He said as we made our way downstairs.

"Are you still going to go?" I asked.

"Yeah, Babe. I already made arrangements. They don't know I am coming so it is like a surprise inspection."

"Oh."

"I'll call you every night."

"It will be lonely without you."

"I'll be lonely too. I was looking forward to our time together."

Ranger dragged in all the bags and stuff I had packed for Ricky. I felt bad that I made him load up the car only to unload it. But he would have had to do it once we got to his parents' house anyway.

I gave Ricky a cool bath hoping it would help with the fever. I gave him more baby Tylenol. We were both waiting for Ranger to come down so we could say good-bye.

Ranger was talking on his cell phone. Probably giving last minute instructions to Tank.

He closed his phone when he got to us. He took Ricky from me and lifted him up over his head.

"Hey Ricky. Don't give your mom too hard of a time while I am gone. She is going to missing some serious love making while I am gone so she may not be a happy mommy. But I will make it up to her when I get home."

He pulled me into an embrace. "Babe, I am going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. It seems harder this time." I started to tear up. "Last time when you left we didn't know when you were going to be back. I know you are only going to be gone a week, but it just seems harder."

"It's because our love is stronger. It's harder to pull it apart." He kissed me. "I love you. I will call you to check on Ricky."

"What about me?"

"I'll call you every night. We will have to do phone sex instead of passionate sex like you wanted."

"I love you." I whimpered trying really hard not to cry.

"I love you too." He kissed me again long and deep until someone hit us in the face. Ricky laughed. He kissed Ricky and handed him back to me.

"Call Tank or one of the guys if you need anything. They all have been given orders to drop everything if you need them."

"We'll be fine. It's not like I have any psychos after me anymore."

"I know, but I still worry. You're going to be out here all alone."

"I did it before while I was pregnant and after Ricky was born."

"Please just humor me. Call Tank even if it's just to let him know you and Ricky are fine."

"O.K."

He kissed me again. Then he kissed Ricky again. "I love you both so much."

"Will you go already. So you can hurry back." He kissed me again and then he was gone. Ricky and I waved as he pulled out of the driveway.

"O.K. Ricky, it's like old times isn't it? Just you and me."

________________

I went to my parent's house. I thought I could get some advise about Ricky's fever.

"Hey Mom. Hey Grandma."

"Stephanie! I thought you were on your way to Boston with Carlos." My mom said.

"Yeah well, change of plans. Ricky is running a slight temperature. I gave him baby Tylenol and a cool bath but he still seems warm. Do you think it's teething?"

"I don't know. Is he coughing or sneezing? Does he have a runny nose?"

"He has a runny nose but that can be caused by teething."

"Let me see." She took Ricky from me. "Well he does feel warm but not too bad. It is probably teething."

"I didn't want to leave with him running a fever. Carlos left this morning."

"Do you want to come for supper tonight?"

"I don't know Mom. I think I will just get a pizza or sub."

"So you let the Package go to Boston alone?" Grandma asked.

"It's not like I had a choice. He needed to go for business. He was making a surprise inspection. I didn't want to leave Ricky if he is sick."

"If I were you I'd keep tabs on him."

"Thanks for putting doubts in my head again, Grandma."

"I am not talking about your man. I am talking about the baby. The fever can spike fast."

"Oh, thanks. I'll keep an eye on him. I better go. I need to stop and pick up some things from the store and then get something for dinner. Thanks again mom for your advise."

I hugged my mom and then hugged Grandma.

"Call if you need anything." My mom said.

"I will."

"Do you want to come for dinner some night while Carlos is gone?"

"Sure mom I will let you know."

________________

I stopped at the store and got some things like more baby Tylenol and some things to eat. We told Miranda that we were going to be gone and she didn't do the shopping for the week. I will have to remember to call her tomorrow.

I stopped at Pino's for a meatball sub. While I was waiting for my sub. Eddie Gazarra came in.

"Hi Steph. Hey there Ricky. What are you doing here? I thought you and Ranger were going out of town."

"Hi Eddie. How's it going? We were supposed to be, but Ricky is running a fever and is probably coming down with something so I stayed home. How are Shirley and the kids?"

"Shirley is good. The kids' have been sick on and off. It seems that just when you think they are getting better one of the kids will come down with something else."

"That's too bad. Shirley must be a wreck."

"Yeah, I promised her a weekend away once they all get well."

"So what have they all had?" The mom in me coming is out.

"Colds mostly, ear infections, strep throat, a stomach bug. The usual kid ailments."

"I will have to keep an eye on Ricky."

"He doesn't go to daycare does he? Because if he hasn't been exposed to sick kids then you shouldn't worry. He is probably teething. I remember when the kids were babies. Getting teeth must be horrible. They are cranky and drool a lot and run fevers. Then it stops and then that tooth starts to push through again and they're cranky again. Then it stops. And then finally there is a little pearly white thing in their mouths."

"Thanks for the visual."

"Well I better get going. I offered to pick up pizzas for supper tonight. For those that can eat and are hungry that is."

"Hey Eddie here is your order. Steph your sub is just about ready." Tony the owner said as he handed Eddie his pizza and garlic bread and salad. "Here's your sub, Steph. Enjoy. See you soon."

I didn't notice that Joe was sitting in the back booth.

_______________

Later that night, I woke to hearing coughing coming over the baby monitor. I got up to check on Ricky. Ranger had called earlier to check in. Ricky had been fine. Still had the slight fever. But he still played with his toys, so I just figured it was due to another tooth coming in.

I walked into Ricky's room. I didn't turn on the light. The nightlight gave off enough light to see. I felt Ricky's head. He was burning hot. He coughed some more. I picked him up and went into the bathroom and ran a luke warm bath for him. He was still sleepy when I placed him in the bath. He didn't wake up much. I poured water over him in an attempt to cool him down. When I thought he had been in the bath long enough I took him out and dressed him in a lighter weight sleeper thinking that maybe he was dressed too warm. I gave him some more baby Tylenol. He seemed to settle down and sleep and he felt cooler. I got the ear thermometer that I bought earlier. I was reading how to work it before going to bed. I check his temperature. It was 102 degrees F. I went to call Tank.

"Yo. Someone better be dead." Tank answered.

"Uh, Tank?"

"Bomber! Is everything O.K?"

"I don't know. Ricky's temp is high. Right now it is 102 degrees F but that is after I gave him a cool bath. I don't want to be panicking but I am wondering if you could come and get us and take us to the ER?"

"Sure thing. I be right there."

"Thanks Tank."

I went to get dressed. I came back to get Ricky. I took his temp again and it was 104 degrees F. It was going higher instead of lower. All of a sudden he started jerking and shaking.

"Oh my God! Ricky!" I ran for the phone. And tried to call Tank back. Ricky stopped shaking and jerking. I picked him up and headed for the stairs. I started dialing 911. When I heard the buzzer indicating someone was at the gate. I ran to the control panel and didn't bother looking to see who it was. I thought it was Tank.

I got Ricky in the carrier and grab my jacket and purse just as the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there was Joe Morelli.

"Oh my God! Joe! What are you doing here? Never mind. Do you have your Kojak light in your car?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Ricky is sick. I think he just had a seizure. I need to get to the hospital. I called Tank, but that was before the seizure. I was just calling 911 when you got here."

"Come on. Let's go."

Joe picked up Ricky and we went out to his SUV. I got in back with Ricky and strapped the carrier in. Joe placed his Kojak light on the roof of the car and turned it on. He used his cell to call in. I called Tank to tell him to meet me at the hospital instead.

Joe pulled up to the emergency entrance. I hopped out. Tank and Bobby were there waiting for me. They didn't seem to be too happy to see Joe. I didn't have time to explain things to them. They escorted me to the admitting desk.

"I think my baby just had a seizure. He has a really high fever that I can't get down. I tried baby Tylenol and cool baths."

"O.K. come with me." The nurse said to me.

She led us back to one of the curtained rooms. "The doctor will be right in." She said.

"How is he?" Tank said to me a little stiffly.

"I don't know. I woke up when I heard coughing and when I felt him he was burning up. So I gave him a bath. And then after I called you he started to shake and jerk. I think he had some sort of seizure."

The doctor came in then. I repeated what had happened. He listened to his heart and lungs. Ricky was starting to wake up. The doctor took his temperature again.

"He sounds a little congested. And his temp is now 105 degrees F. He must have some sort of infection. The temp is high but not that high for a baby. But it is serious. I think we should admit him and start him on IV antibiotics and fluids. He is a little dehydrated. Probably from the fever."

Ricky started coughing again. And then he started shaking and jerking again.

"Oh my God! He is having another seizure!" I cried.

Tank came over and put is arm around me. The seizure stopped. The doctor told the nurse to start drawing blood for some tests and what tests needed to be done. He told her what medicine to start him on. He wanted Ricky hooked up to an EEG to monitor his seizures. He ordered X-rays. He called up to the pediatric ward to get everything set up there and said to have a cot brought up for me. The doctor turned to me.

"I thought you would probably be staying with your son."

"Thank you." I managed to get out through the tears.

"He's going to be O.K., Steph." Tank said to me.

"Where did Bobby go?" I asked Tank.

"He went to make a few phone calls and to fill out the paper work and insurance papers."

_______________

**Bobby's POV**

I stepped out of the room and dialed a number.

"Yo."

"Ranger. Bobby. We have a situation here. Ricky had to be brought to the hospital."

"The hospital? What happened?"

"His temp shot up and he had a few seizures."

"Seizures?"

"Yeah. It can be common for babies to have seizures when they have a high fever."

"How is Steph?"

"She is hanging in there. Obviously she is concerned. She will be staying with Ricky. There is one other thing you should be made aware of. Morelli brought her and Ricky to the hospital."

"Morelli? Why didn't she call Tank or one of you?"

"She did. And we were on the way. Then she called and said to just meet her at the hospital. We got to the hospital and just then Morelli pulled up with his light on top."

"I'll try and get on the earliest plane." And he hung up.

_______________

**Steph's POV**

It took about an hour before Ricky was to be taken up to the pediatric ward. He didn't have anymore seizures in that time. The nurse started the IV. He had tubes and wires coming from all over. Some to monitor his heart. Some to monitor his head. Finally we were allowed to go up stairs. Tank had stayed by me the whole time but I noticed Bobby slip out. We followed the gurney with Ricky's tiny body on it. We all got in the elevator. Me, the nurse, Ricky, Tank and Bobby. I saw Joe as the doors were closing. I gave in a small smile and I mouthed "thank you" to him.

Up in the pediatric ward. They put Ricky in a crib in a private room. I think Bobby had something to do with getting that arranged. The nurse checked the IV and monitors. He looked so small and frail. She left the room. I went over to the crib and felt Ricky head, brushing the curls off his face. He felt cooler than he was earlier. Tears were still cascading down my face.

"Tank, did someone call Ranger?"

"Yeah, Bobby called. Ranger said he will try to get on the first flight in the morning."

"What time is it now?" I asked.

"It's 3:00 a.m. Why don't you lie down for a little while?"

"I can't. I need to be here for Ricky."

"Steph, he is in good hands. You aren't doing him any good by running yourself down."

"I can't" I whispered. "What if something is terribly wrong with him? What if he has brain damage?

The doctor walked in again and heard what I said. "In most cases there shouldn't be any permanent damage. The seizures were probably caused by the high fever. It's the body's way of dealing with it. There can be a reoccurrence of seizures. If that happens we will give him anti-seizure medicine. He may need to have anti-seizure medicine all the time. He can grow out of it with time. Most of the time though it is usually a one time occurrence."

"Well, it was one too many for me." I said.

"I came in here to tell you, your son has pneumonia."

"Pneumonia? How did he get that?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Does he go to daycare?" he asked.

"No."

"Anybody you know been sick that would have been in contact with him?"

"No, not that I know of." Then I remembered Ricky playing with Mary Lou's kids. I will have to check with her.

"Well, we got him on antibiotics. His temperature should break within 24 hours. Why don't you try and get some rest, Ms. Plum." And then he left.

I pulled a chair over to the crib and sat down. I put my hand through the railing and stroked Ricky. Tank took the other chair. He didn't say anything more. But he looked at me kind of funny.

**NOTE: **I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I don't pretend to know all the procedures involved. The info I got about fevers and seizures I got from the internet.

**TBC** **Chapter 11 - At The Hospital**


	11. Chapter 11

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction any people, places and events that happen are not factual. Enjoy and please review. The more reviews, the faster the chapters will be posted. There are a lot more chapters to go.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 11  
****At The Hospital**

Bobby came into the room around 7:00 a.m. with a bag from the Tasty Pastry. He handed the bag to me, but I shook my head. I wasn't hungry.

"Steph you need to sleep and eat."

"I can't."

"Running yourself down it's going to help Ricky."

"I'm afraid." I whisper.

"Afraid of what?"

"That if I sleep, something bad is going to happen to Ricky." I whispered again.

"Steph, we would wake you if something happened. We wouldn't leave him unattended. He is being closely monitored. All these machines are being watched by someone at the main desk on the floor. One wrong blip and someone would be in here." Bobby said softly trying to reassure me.

I just shook my head. "He needs his mommy." I whispered again. I looked at Tank who was still sitting in the corner. He tried to give me an encouraging smile. "Any word on when Ranger is going to get here?"

"He's on a plane right now as we speak."

I just nodded my head and turned back to Ricky. His breathing became labored during the night and he now had a small oxygen mask. He looked so frail and tiny in that crib. His temperature had only come down a few degrees. Everyone said that was good. The doctor came in before his shift ended and said that Ricky shouldn't have any more seizures providing that the seizures were caused by the high fever. I continued to stroke his arm, his face or his head.

"Mommy's here, baby. Daddy will be here soon." I said softly to him.

At shift change a new nurse came in to check on Ricky.

"Hi, I'm Angela. I'm the day nurse. I need to see how Ricky is doing."

She checked the monitors and checked his IV. She took his temperature. It was still 102 degrees F. She changed his diaper.

"Ricky is doing fine." She said to me.

"He hasn't woken up yet." I said.

"His body is working on making him well. The body heals faster when it is sleeping. He is fine. He isn't dehydrated. He had a wet diaper. That is a good sign. His temp dropped a degree. He still is a sick little boy but he is slowly getting better."

"But shouldn't he be hungry?"

"He is getting nutrients in the IV. He may wake up later for a bottle. Can I get you anything? Juice, coffee, soda?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"You should get some rest. Go lie down on the cot. That is what it is there for."

I just shook my head.

"I'll be back later to check on him. If you need anything just hit the call button." She turned gave Tank and Bobby a small smile and left.

I must have been dosing in the chair when I heard him enter the room.

"Babe."

"Carlos!" I flew into his arms. Sobs coming from me as my body shook. He held me tight rubbing my back.

"Sshhh. It is going to be all right." He said. We just stood there like that. Tank and Bobby left the room. I continued to cry. "You look exhausted, Babe. You need to lie down and get some sleep."

"No. I can't." I had stopped sobbing but tears were still running down my face. Ranger maneuvered us over to the chair by the crib. He looked at his son.

"So what is the status?"

"Uh. Um. His temp was 102 degrees F at last check. He isn't dehydrated. He has been getting IV fluids and an IV antibiotic. His breathing became labored and so they put him on oxygen. He hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said that he shouldn't have any more seizures if they were being caused by the fever. Oh God, Carlos. He is so little. He's just a baby. It was so scary. I didn't know what to do." I started to get a little hysterical.

"You did the right thing. Calling Tank and getting to the hospital." He said. His arms still around me. He was rubbing my back trying to soothe me.

"It all happened so fast. It is like a blur."

"Babe, go lie down before you collapse. I'm here. I'll watch over Ricky. Get some rest."

I just shook my head.

"Babe, please."

That did it. "O.K." I said. "But you have to wake me if there is any change." He nodded his head. He led me over to the cot. I lay down and he covered me with the blanket. He gave me a kiss. I watched as he went over to the crib. He sat down in the chair. He reached into the crib and stroked Ricky's cheek with his finger.

"Hey, Little Man. Daddy is here. I'll watch over you now so you can get better and your mommy can get some sleep."

Before I knew it, I was asleep.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

A nurse came in a while later. "Oh, hello. I'm Angela. You must be his daddy."

"Carlos Manoso. So how is he?"

"He is still not out of the woods yet. But he is doing better." She checked his temp again. "Temp is 101 degrees F. It is coming down, but slowly. He seems to be breathing better so I'll see if we can take the oxygen off. His heart rate is good. EEG looks good. There haven't been anymore seizures." She said.

She checked a few more things. "I see your wife is finally asleep. She looked so exhausted. I couldn't get her to lie down and rest."

I wasn't going to correct her on the wife part, so I just nodded.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Water, juice, coffee?"

"Water would be good if it isn't too much trouble."

"Not at all. I'll have someone bring in a couple of bottles for you and your wife."

I just nodded again and she left. I looked at Steph lying on the cot. She still looked exhausted. Someone came in with the water. I took them from her and she left. I opened one of the bottles and took a sip. I looked at my son. He looked so small. This was a nightmare. How could this be happening to my son?

________________

**Steph's POV**

Later that afternoon, something woke me up. A sound. I looked around. Oh yeah, I said to myself, we're in the hospital. Ricky. I looked over to the crib. There he was sitting up. Looking over at me. I felt movement from behind me. Ranger. He must have lain down next to me. Ricky was looking at us. Sitting up in bed. He was babbling.

"Dada. Dada." Ricky said.

That sound was the most precious sound. I couldn't believe it.

Ranger sat up and looked over. We both got up and went to the crib. Ricky put his arms up to be picked up. I reached in and lifted him up minding the wires and tubes that were still attached. He felt cool as pressed my cheek on his head.

"Oh my God! Ricky, my baby." I said as I cradled him in my arms.

Ranger had his arm around me. With his other hand he stroked Ricky's cheek. We stayed like that for a few minutes. Just the three of us before Ranger pressed the call button.

A nurse came in and saw us. "I see the fever must have broken. I'll notify the doctor. He'll want to check him out. I'll bring a bottle for him. He is probably hungry."

"Is it all right if I breast feed?" I asked.

"By all means if you are still breast feeding."

I settled myself in a chair and got situated for breast feeding. I nestled Ricky at my breast and he latched on and greedily sucked. Ranger brought the other chair over. He draped on an arm across my shoulder and held Ricky's hand with the other. We just sat like that. We didn't talk. We silently sent prayers of thanks to God for Ricky's recovery.

"Carlos?"

"Yeah Babe?"

"Why haven't any of our families shown up?"

"I gave Tank instructions to let everyone know but that they shouldn't disturb us. He would keep them posted with updates on Ricky's condition."

"Thank you. I don't think I could have dealt with people parading in and out all day long."

We became silent again. Just basking in the glory that our son was going to be all right.

The doctor came in shortly after. He noticed that I was breast feeding and said he would be back. But he did say that it was a good sign that Ricky was awake and eating.

The doctor returned. I had just finished buttoning up my blouse. He checked Ricky over. He said that the EEG and heart monitors could be removed. But he was still keeping the IV in so that Ricky would still be getting the antibiotics that he needed. He said that it looked like he was breathing better on his own. In fact Ricky must have pushed it off his face when he woke up. So that could be removed. If Ricky needed it, it would be returned. He said that he didn't think Ricky would have any more seizures. But he did say that if Ricky got sick again and his fever got high again that he could have another one. But he said that as Ricky got older the likelihood of that happening again would greatly diminish. He wanted Ricky to remain in the hospital another 24 to 48 hours.

Ranger went out to talk to Tank to update him on Ricky and to get someone to bring us food. I didn't realize how hungry I was. It had been over 24 hours since I last ate. I was too worried about Ricky to eat anything.

Lester brought us salads from Pino's. Pino's had the best salads. I loved the honey mustard chicken salad. With lots of honey mustard dressing, chicken strips, croutons, and shredded cheese. Ranger just had a garden salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. Lester brought a large coke for me and bottled water for Ranger. He gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. He then went over to Ricky and tickled him and rubbed his belly. Then he bumped fists with Ranger and left.

Ranger and I lay down on the cot later that night. We were both exhausted from the emotional roller coaster ride of the last 24 hours. We were spooned together with my back to his front, facing the crib so we could watch our son. Ranger's arm draped over my middle and I had my arms wrapped over his so we could hold each other. Eventually we fell asleep. But woke up every time some came in the room to check on Ricky. They tried really hard to not wake us, but we did anyway. Especially Ranger who didn't sleep soundly to begin with.

________________

The next morning, Tank brought us a bag from the Tasty Pastry and coffee for both of us. Ranger had a bran muffin and I had my usual Boston Crème donuts. He got an update on Ricky. He updated Ranger on a few things with RangeMan and then left. We ate silently as Ricky was still asleep.

After Ricky woke up, I was able to feed him some cereal and fruit and give him a bath. Tank had brought us some clothes and toiletries and some things for Ricky. We each got a shower and freshened up. It made us feel better.

When Ricky was taking a nap later that morning, Ranger looked over at me. I knew something was bothering him.

"Babe, we need to talk."

Whenever he utters that phrase, I feel something bad is going to happen.

"What about?" I asked.

"The night you brought Ricky to the hospital."

"Yeah?"

"Morelli brought you. What was he doing at the house?"

"I don't know. He just showed up. I didn't get a chance to ask him."

"How did he get past the security?"

"I don't know. I guess I opened the gate."

"Why?"

"I heard the buzzer indicating that someone was at the gate. I thought it was Tank. So I pressed the button for the gate to open."

"Steph, Tank knows the code. He would have let himself in. Didn't you look at the monitors?"

"No, I didn't. I was concerned about our son. I wasn't thinking. It was 12:30 a.m. I was expecting Tank."

"Steph, I find it hard to believe that Morelli would suddenly be there when you needed a ride to the hospital."

"What are you saying? That I had Morelli over for the night? That I took advantage that you were out of town to sleep with my ex? What? Are you starting to believe that what Ernesto said is true? That I am a slut and a whore?"

"I don't know. I just find too convenient that he suddenly was there."

"Get out!"

"Steph, just tell me the truth."

"Get the hell out!" I was starting to shout. I woke Ricky who started crying. I went to pick him up. "I want you to leave. And I don't want you to come back." I said to Ranger.

Ranger got up to leave. He took one more look at Ricky and left. I sat down on in the chair with Ricky and cried. I couldn't believe what he was insinuating. I felt so alone.

**TBC Chapter 12 - What Happens Now?**


	12. Chapter 12

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 12  
****What Happens Now?  
**

After a couple more days in the hospital, Ricky was being discharged. I called Lula and asked if she would pick us up. She said that she would be there.

I spent every day with my son in the hospital. Ranger didn't come to see him. The Merry Men were there everyday as well and I'm sure they reported back to Ranger to let him know how we were. They brought me food to eat knowing that I wouldn't leave Ricky and that the hospital food was awful. They didn't mention Ranger to me.

I met Lula out front. I got Ricky's carrier strapped in the back and got in.

"Where am I takin' you?" she asked.

"Take me to my parents'. I am going to stay there until I decide what I am going to do."

"Girl, I hope you know what you are doin'."

"I can't go to the Batcave. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"So what is goin' on with you and Officer Hottie?"

"Nothing is going on. Not counting the night he brought us to the hospital, I hadn't seen him since Julie was here."

"Well, word is that you an' him been sneakin' around."

"Who the hell is saying that?"

"It is just what I been hearin'. Don't shoot the messenger."

"What the hell!"

"So I take it the wedding to Batman is off?"

"I haven't canceled anything yet. I don't know what to do. I love him, Lula. I can't believe that he would think that I would bring another man into his house and in his bed. And after I practically begged him to take me with him to Boston. If it wasn't for Ricky getting sick, we would be there now."

"I'm glad I'm not in yo shoes. I would hate to be on Batman's bad side."

We got to my parents' house. Lula carried the overnight bag and I had Ricky. My mom was at the door.

"Stephanie! What is all this . . . " My mom started.

"Mom." I put my hand up. "Don't. O.K.? I don't have the energy to deal with this right now."

"But what about the wedding plans?"

"I don't know yet what I am going to do. It is going to be a lot easier to cancel the plans than it would be start them up again. I am hoping that Carlos will come to the realization that I haven't been sleeping with Joe."

"But I heard that Joe himself has been telling . . . "

Lula sucked her breath.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I said that Joe . . . "

"That lying piece of shit."

"Stephanie!" My mom yelled.

"So what're you goin' to do now? It's yo word against his." Lula said.

"I don't know. Right now I am exhausted. I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap."

"One of Carlos' men brought over the portable crib and some of Ricky's things."

"I see. Thanks mom. Lula, I'll talk to you later."

"You got it girlfriend."

I headed up the stairs with Ricky. I didn't see the look that Lula and my mom exchanged. I laid down on the bed with Ricky. Tears were falling down my face. How did things go from happy to disasterous in just a few days? What was going to happen now? My whole world was crashing down around me. At least Ricky was getting better. I don't know what I would do without him. I started thinking about what I needed to do. First off would be to find a new job. I don't think I could work at RangeMan. Ranger obviously didn't trust me anymore. Then I would have to find another place to live. I knew I couldn't stay here for very long without going crazy. Then there was the wedding. All the planning. All the disagreements with each other and our families. For what? I was sobbing now. Ricky was just sitting there looking at me. He reached out and touched my cheek. I just started to cry harder. I picked him up and placed him in the portable crib that my mom or dad or Merry Men had set up. I went back to the bed and climb in and pulled the sheet and blankets over me. I cried myself to sleep.

________________

I woke up several hours later. I looked and noticed Ricky wasn't in the crib. Someone must have come and got him while I was sleeping. I got up and went to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and gasp at how I looked. I washed my face and put a cold washcloth on my eyes to help with the puffiness. When I was done, I went downstairs. There in the living room was Ranger with Ricky.

"Hi Steph."

"Ranger."

Ranger winced at me using Ranger instead of Carlos. "I brought over your SUV and I wanted to see Ricky."

"That's fine Ranger. But I would prefer that you call first before coming over."

"I did Steph. Your grandma said that you were sleeping but that Ricky was awake. So I came over."

"Oh. I want you to be part of Ricky's life. I don't want to deny either of you the relationship that a father and son should have."

"Can I talk to you outside?"

"There is nothing to talk about. You said all I care to hear at the hospital."

"Steph, please."

"Oh all right."

Ranger kissed Ricky before walking toward the door. We went out onto the porch.

"Steph, why don't you and Ricky move back to the house?"

"I can't."

"You would be more comfortable there. And all of Ricky's things are there. He has been through a lot these last couple of days. He would be happier around more familiar surroundings."

"Where would you be?"

"I'll stay at the apartment at RangeMan. Please Steph."

He used that word. "O.K. We'll move back tomorrow. But only until I find some place else to live."

"Steph, you don't have to do that. Stay there. I hardly use the house."

"I can't. I don't want to be a burden or an obligation. Ricky and I will be fine on our own."

"So what are you going to do about the wedding?"

"I don't know yet. What do you want to do?" I whispered.

"Don't do anything yet, please. We can work this out."

"What is there to work out? You obviously don't believe me. You would rather believe Burg gossip."

"Steph. Please."

There was that word again. How I was starting to hate that word. "Fine. I will wait a while. But let me know when you want to end this. I don't want you to lose any more money on the down payments."

I turned and walked back into the house. I sat down on the couch and watched Ricky play with a noisy toy. I suddenly realized that I never saw that toy before.

"Mom? Where did Ricky get that toy?"

"Carlos brought it for him."

"Oh."

Ricky crawled over to me. He pulled himself up using my knee to hold on to. I picked him up and held him to my chest. I started to cry again. You would think that I wouldn't have any tears left after all the crying I have done the last couple of days.

"Oh Ricky, what are we going to do?" I cried.

Grandma was watching us. She had a sly look on her face.

________________

The next day Ricky and I moved back to the house. Miranda was there.

"How is Ricky doing?" She asked.

"He is doing much better, thank you." I said.

"You have had quite a time haven't you?" She said giving me a hug. I know she was insinuating more than just with Ricky being sick. I really didn't want to get into the breakup with Ranger. So I just focused on Ricky being sick.

"It was so scary. I didn't know what was going on. To watch your child have a seizure and you can't do anything, is frightening."

"Well, the main thing is that Ricky is going to be fine. You got him to the hospital where they were able to treat him."

I started looking in the want ads for jobs that I could do that weren't dangerous but that paid somewhat well. I figured mom would watch Ricky for me while I worked. I wanted steady hours. I thought about waitressing. Then I thought about the Cluck-in-a-Bucket and decided that would probably be disastrous. I found another ad for being a sales clerk at Macy's. Maybe I would get an employee discount. I circled that one. There was another ad for sales clerk at a shoe store. I circled that one as well. By the time I was done there were six potential job openings that I was going to look into tomorrow.

Miranda made me my favorite pineapple upside down cake for dessert. I really needed some comfort food. Miranda usually didn't make desserts for me except when Ranger was gone. She knew what I needed. She was a gem.

I gave Ricky his bath. I read him a story before putting him to bed. I walked into the room that Ranger and I had shared. I sank to the floor. How could this be happening? We were so happy. I started to cry again. My heart was still breaking into a million little pieces. All my dreams were shattered. I looked at the ring on my finger. I got up and walked to the dresser, removing the ring on the way. I opened my jewelry box and placed the ring inside. I would return it to Ranger next time I saw him.

_______________

The next morning I got up and got ready for a day of job hunting. I put on my navy suit with a white blouse. I got Ricky ready and headed to my parents' house.

"Hi Mom, Hi Grandma. Can you watch Ricky for me? I am going out to look for another job."

"Another job?"

"Mom, I can't work at RangeMan anymore. It would be too awkward."

"I wish you and Carlos would settle this one way or the other. Are you and he together? Are you two getting married?"

"Mom, I wish I knew, but right now I need to look for another job."

I turned and walked out the door.

______________

**Ranger's POV**

My cell phone rang. "Yo." I answered.

"Is this Carlos Manoso?" The woman asked.

"Yes it is. Who is this? How did you get this number?" I asked.

"This is Edna Mazur, Stephanie's grandma." She stated.

"Yes, Mrs. Mazur. What can I do for you? Is everything O.K.? It isn't Ricky is it?" I asked confused as to why she was calling him.

"No, Ricky is fine. It's Stephanie I am worried about. I can't talk long. Helen is running some errands and I am watching Ricky while Stephanie looks for another job." I grimaced when I heard that. She was looking for another job? "Do you love my granddaughter?" She asked me.

"Of course I do."

"Then why are you treating her like this? You know she has loved you for a very long time. You have always treated my granddaughter with respect until now. Joe Morelli never respected her. You know what he did to her when she was sixteen?"

"Yes."

"And I assume you know what the horse's ass of an ex-husband did to her?"

"Yes."

"Then why would you think that she would cheat on you? I don't understand why the men in her life feel the need to degrade and humiliate her. I didn't think that you would ever do that. I guess maybe I was wrong. You know she would never cheat on you. She has been there and she knows what is feels like. Look, I don't want to take up too much of your time, but you need to get your head out of your ass. I know that she resisted you while she was with Morelli. You sure put the pressure on her. You can't fault Morelli for trying the same thing. Morelli would go to any lengths to get Stephanie back. And you and I both know that he would not waste any time throwing it back in her face that she can't keep a man. That she is lucky that he is willing to take her back. You know what that is going to do to her. She will be hurt but she will just accept it. Which in turn will hurt Ricky. Do you want Morelli raising your son? Because if I know you, you won't take Ricky away from Stephanie. And in the end you will hurt as well. Look, everyone thinks that I am a crazy old woman, but I sit back and watch people. I see what goes on. Stephanie is hurting and she is hurting badly. She just went through a traumatic experience with Ricky and now this. She needs you more than ever. She needs your strength. Well, I have said my piece. I hope you will do the right thing for everyone involved. Have a good day."

And she hung up. I just looked at the phone. Tank was sitting there.

"So what was that all about?" Tank asked.

"That was Stephanie's grandma." I said.

"Why did she call? Is everything O.K. with Steph and Ricky?" Tank asked anxiously.

"She wanted to let me know that I am being an ass. That I'm hurting Steph with my accusation. I watched her go back to him over and over again. Some of it was my doing, I know. But I thought that maybe she changed her mind about me and realized that she loved him."

"I doubt that she would do something like that. Not in your house and in your bed. I know Steph loves you. I just was concerned that he was sniffing around again. Now that you told her that you didn't trust and believe her, she may run back to him. Sometimes you can be such an ass."

"Thanks. It was pretty much what her grandma said too."

"So now what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I asked Steph to move back to the house. I told her I would stay here. She said she was going start looking for another place for her and Ricky. She is out looking for another job as we speak. I also asked her not to cancel the wedding plans that are already in place. I can't believe I reacted like that. I know Steph loves me. I love her with all my heart."

"Well, I suggest that you get your head out of your ass and fix this before things escalate out of control."

Just then the door burst open and Lula in rhino mode stormed in.

"Batman, what the hell are you doin' to my girl? She is out lookin' for another job! I just saw her at Macy's applyin' for a sales clerk job!"

"Lula. I guess I over reacted."

"You over reacted? You best get yo head out of yo sorry ass. That girl has been nuttin' but true to you. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I guess I've seen her to go back to Morelli too many times. I just thought this was what was happening again."

"Huh. She sat there for months, while you was gone, waitin' for you. She had yo baby. She could of easily gotten rid of it and you wouldn't know the difference. You think she would go back to Super Cop now? You need to get yo head examined."

"Lula, honey. I think we better go now." Tank stood up and took Lula's arm trying to calm things down.

"Huh, I said all I need to say. You just better fix this before it's too late. You don't want Super Cop raisin' yo son. Cuz that is what'll happen. Oh, not right away. But eventually it will. She'll feel she has no choice and if Super Cop comes around and convinces her that Ricky needs a male role model, she'll do it."

Tank and Lula walked to the door just as Ranger's phone buzzed.

"What?" Ranger grunted.

"Uh. Mrs. Plum is here to see you." Ram said.

"Send her up." Ranger sighed.

"Like I said. You better fix this before it spirals out of control." Tank said as he led Lula out of Ranger's office.

Ranger went to meet Mrs. Plum at the elevators. The doors opened and Mrs. Plum walked off, escorted by Ram. Ranger nodded to Ram and Ram got back into the elevator.

"Mrs. Plum, what can I do for you?"

"I want to know what your intentions are with my daughter." Mrs. Plum said.

"Let's go into my office." Ranger escorted Mrs. Plum to his office. "Is there something I can get for you? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"I'm fine." She said as she sat in the chair facing him as he sat behind his desk.

"I'll get to the point of my visit. I am concerned about my daughter and my grandson. Steph's past relationships have not been very, how shall I say this. They have not been very successful. You are not what I would have chosen as a husband for my daughter. But we don't always have control over who our heart chooses. My daughter's heart obviously has chosen you. But, right now her heart is shattering into a million pieces. So, I want to know what you intend to do about your relationship with Steph."

"Mrs Plum, I love Steph."

"She is obviously head over heels in love with you. She has a son now that she needs to think about too. She is a constant source of Burg gossip because of her failed relationships and that doesn't help matters any. She had to deal with the gossip when she got divorced from Dickie Orr. She was the source of Burg gossip while she was working as that bounty hunter, which, I may add, you constantly encouraged her to do. She was gossiped about when she became pregnant with your child. And now this. If she would have married Joseph Morelli, I doubt she would be Burg gossip."

"I understand that was she gossiped about when he wrote about taking her virginity on the floor of the Tasty Pastry on the bathroom wall."

"Well, that was in the past."

"So was her divorce. Mrs. Plum, I love your daughter. I love my son. I can assure you I will take care of them. Maybe I was too hasty and jumped the gun about her being with Morelli. You aren't the first person to point that out to me. I want to make things right with Steph, but she won't talk to me right now. I have been keeping my distance, to give us time to think. But, I don't want too much time to go by. We may not be able to fix our relationship."

"Well, then stop thinking and start acting. My daughter can be head strong and independent. She still has her pride. She will make do with what she has and won't ask for anyone's help unless she is forced to. She is looking for another job right now. The last thing I want her to do is go back to that good for nothing cousin and ask for her old job back. That isn't a job she should have while raising a child. She needs a stable job with stable hours and a stable income with benefits."

"Mrs. Plum, like I said before, I will take care of Steph and Ricky. She shouldn't have to settle for a job so she can make ends meet. If she wants to work. If it makes her feel more in control and independent then she can do that. But I will make sure they have a roof over their heads and food on the table and clothes on their backs."

"You better learn how to do it without her knowing about it. She won't accept that. She doesn't want to be an obligation. Just fix your relationship with her. Hopefully, things will work out and you won't have to deceive her."

"I intend to do just that. Thank you Mrs. Plum for stopping by."

"Well, thank you for taking time to see me. I better get back before Steph gets back from job hunting."

I escorted her to the elevators and watched as she got on and the doors closed. I let out a sigh. I had to fix this and I had to do it soon.

________________

**Steph's POV**

The job hunting was awful. I was either too old, too young, over qualified, under qualified, not skilled enough, or wouldn't work weekends. My feet hurt and I was depressed and dejected. I went to get Ricky from my mom. She took one look at me and knew not to ask any questions. I was glad. I just wanted to go home and soak in the tub, have a nice hot meal and go to bed. Looking for a new job sucked, but it was something I had to do. Tomorrow I would try again. I knew that I could probably get my job back from Vinnie. I would only go there as a last resort.

After supper I played with Ricky, gave him a bath, read him a story and put him to bed. The house was extremely quiet. I sighed as I check the doors and made sure the alarm was on. I slowly climbed that stairs dreading the night that lay ahead. Somehow the nights seemed endless. I walked into the bedroom. Maybe I should change rooms. The memories of Ranger were too close. I'll mention it to Miranda in the morning. I got changed and slipped under the covers. Sleep eluded me even though I was exhausted. The tears came again and I cried myself to sleep hugging Ranger's pillow.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

It was almost a week since Ricky was taken to the hospital. Almost a week since I held her. I knew she was hurting because of me. I can't believe a reacted the way I did. I was such an idiot. I silently walked up the stairs. I walked down the hall and turned to the door on the right. I slowly opened the door. I scanned the room noting where everything was. I walked to the crib and peer in. I saw the sleeping form. I reached in and brushed a finger on the small cheek. I turned and left the room closing the door quietly behind me and crossed the hall to the door directly across from me. I slowly opened the door and scanned the room. I saw the form in the bed. I heard the sobs coming from the form. Muffled in the pillow she was hugging. I walked over to the bed and sat down.

She felt the bed shift. She raised her head. "Carlos?" She whispered.

"Shhh, Babe." I said.

"W-what are y-you d-doing here?"

"I had to see you. Be with you. Babe, I am sorry. Sorry I didn't believe you. I wasn't thinking straight."

"W-why? Why now in the m-mid-dle of the n-night?"

"I couldn't sleep. I need you."

"Is this just a b-booty call?" She started to get angry.

"Babe, no. I came to apologize. I couldn't wait for morning. I wanted to bang my head against a brick wall at how stupid I was acting."

"What made you see the light?"

"Your grandma called me. Lula stormed into my office. And your mother stopped by to see me." I saw her eyes get big at that. "They all told me, more or less, that I am being an ass. They told me how much you were hurting. That I would eventually be hurting Ricky and that in turn would hurt me. Your grandma said that Morelli would stop at nothing to try and get you back. Maybe it was by divine intervention that he happened to be there at the right time. But I think that he was up to something. I think we need to confront him as to why he was here that night."

"Why do the men in my life feel the need to visit me in the middle of the night?"

"Babe. I love you. And I am sorry that I doubted you and hurt you, but I've watched you go back to him so often. I guess I just thought that you had changed your mind about me and decided you wanted him back."

"Carlos. I love you. I would never go back to Joe. My love for him is just friendship. I don't love him like I love you."

"I am sorry, Babe. Can you forgive me? I don't know what I would do if you weren't in my life."

"Do you believe me? That I would never cheat on you? I don't think I would be able to be with you if you didn't trust me."

"I do believe you. I trust you. I know deep down that you would never cheat on me. I should never have doubted you. I should have just confronted Morelli either myself or had one of the guys do it. Something is off here. We need to find out what is going on."

"I love you so much, Carlos."

I slipped out of my clothes and got into the bed. I pulled her close to me.

"I missed you." She said sleepily.

"Sleep Babe. We wIll figure something out tomorrow."

________________

**Steph's POV**

The next morning I woke up, I felt strong arms wrapped around me. Ranger was still there. It wasn't a dream. He had apologized. Everything was going to be O.K.

"Morning Babe" I heard his husky voice.

"Mmmm. Morning to you too." I said sleepily.

Just then the wail came over the baby monitor.

"Time to get back to the real world." I said.

We got up. I grabbed my robe and shuffled across the hall to get Ricky. I changed him and we headed downstairs. Ranger was already there starting to get breakfast ready. I got Ricky settled in his highchair. I gave him a spoon to play with and went to get his breakfast.

"So, have you come up with anything on how to confront Joe?" I asked as I started to mix his cereal with some breast milk.

"I think that you should invite him out for lunch. Say that you want to thank him for being there that night and then ask what he was doing here at 12:30 a.m."

"I can do that. Where are you going to be?"

"I'll be close by, but I won't join you until I am satisfied of his answer. It could very well be legitimate, but I want to make sure that he isn't stalking you and checking out the security system of our house."

"You think Joe is stalking me?"

"I don't know Babe. I just find this all too convenient for him to have been here when you needed someone the most."

"So, if he asks if we are still together, how am I supposed to answer?"

"Try and change the subject. If he keeps coming back to it, tell him the truth, but try to keep the information until the end." He noticed my ring was missing. "Where's your ring, Babe?"

"I took it off. It is upstairs in the jewelry box. I'll put it back on after I shower."

"No, keep it off. It will look more convincing if you didn't have it on."

"Should I take Ricky with me or ask someone to babysit?"

"The call is yours. I do think it might help the cause if he sees that you are without support. Although, I would feel better with Ricky not there."

"O.K. I will call Joe later to set it up."

**TBC Chapter 13 - Lunch With Joe**


	13. Chapter 13

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**.This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 13  
****Lunch with Joe**

Ranger and I got dressed after eating breakfast. I was giving Ricky his bath when Ranger came in the bathroom.

"Babe, don't forget to call Morelli."

"I won't."

"Call me and let me know when and where. I left a wire for you on the dresser. Don't forget it."

"I won't."

"Babe."

"What?" I turned to look at him. He motioned for me to stand up. I made sure Ricky was secure in the bath seat and went over to Ranger. He pulled me to him and he kissed me making my toes curl.

"I love you." He said as we pulled apart. "I am sorry for not believing you."

"I love you too, Carlos. Don't worry. I won't try to get back at you by having a nooner with Joe." I said with a smile. "I have something else in mind as a payback." I said mischievously.

"Babe." He said. He bent down by Ricky. "Hey Little Man. You keep your mommy out of trouble today." He kissed his freshly washed head and stood up and kissed me again.

"I'll see you later." I said to him as he walked out of the bathroom and left.

"O.K. Ricky. Time to get out of the tub." I picked him up and wrapped him in a towel. I went into his room and got him dressed. Then we went downstairs I set him on the floor with some toys and went to get my cell phone to call Joe. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Morelli." He said.

"Hey Joe. It's Steph. I was wondering if I can interest you in lunch today. My treat."

"What is the occasion?"

"I didn't get a chance to thank you properly the night you drove me and Ricky to the hospital. Consider it a thank you lunch."

"O.K. Where and when?"

"Not Pino's. Too many busy bodies there. How about Big Jim's? I haven't had ribs in a while. About 12:30 p.m.?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you there, Cupcake."

I hung up. I felt like I was cheating on Ranger even though I wanted Joe and me to be friends. I called Ranger.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself."

"Hey Babe. Did you set up lunch with Morelli?"

"Yeah, Big Jim's at 12:30."

"What, no Pino's?"

"Too many busy bodies. And I am hungry for ribs. I don't feel right about this. I feel like I am cheating on you. You and I had several meals together when I was with Joe and it didn't feel like this. Does that mean it didn't bother me to cheat on Joe?"

"No, Babe. I think that means you love me more. And I am glad that you feel this way because now I really do know that you wouldn't cheat on me."

"I do love you more."

"Just remember not to let on that we're back together too soon. I don't think the burg knows yet."

"Got it. I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too, Babe."

________________

I parked the SUV in the parking lot and got out. I pulled Ricky out of the back in his carrier. He was getting heavy. Maybe it was time to upgrade to a different car seat.

I walked into the restaurant and saw Joe sitting at a table in back. The restaurant was still crowded with patrons. I walked over to him.

"Hey, Cupcake." He said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Ricky. So how is he?"

"He is doing good. Sorry, I had to bring him along. I couldn't get a baby sitter."

"That's O.K. I wanted to get a chance to see him and know that he is going to be O.K."

"I can't thank you enough for driving us to the hospital. I don't know what I would have done."

"I am glad I was there."

"I had called Tank and he was on his way. But then Ricky had a seizure and I freaked out."

"Is he going to be O.K? He isn't going to have to be on medication, is he?"

"Yeah. I guess when children get really high fevers they can have seizures. The doctors said that he shouldn't need to be on any medications."

The waitress came over to take our orders. After she left we resumed our conversation.

"So, how have you been Joe?"

"I have been good. Busy. And you?"

"I've been better."

"Yeah, I heard. I'm sorry."

I just shrugged my shoulders.

"So is the wedding off?" He asked.

"I don't know yet. I haven't canceled anything. I told Ranger to let me know what he decides."

"I kind of told you that it wouldn't last. You didn't even get to the altar."

I chose not to continue this subject and changed to something else. "Joe, why were you there that night?"

"You called me." He said with a smile.

"I called you?" I said dead panned.

"Yeah. Don't you remember?" He said smiling.

"When did I call you? Other than this morning." I questioned.

"The day before I came over. You said that Ranger was going out of town and that you were going to be lonely and needed company while he was gone."

"Joe, I was going with Ranger to Boston. I only stayed home that morning because Ricky had a fever and I didn't feel right leaving him in someone else's care when he was getting sick."

"Cupcake, you had your sexy bedroom voice. I think I would know."

"Joe, I don't know who called you but it wasn't me. Where did this call go to, home, cell or work?"

"Work."

"What time?"

"About eight. I had just gotten to my desk."

"Can you get the phone number that the call came from?"

"Why, are you covering your tracks so that your fiancé doesn't find out?"

"Joe, someone is impersonating me and I want to know why. She is trying to sabotage my relationship with Ranger. And she is doing a bang up job."

"You can't be serious." He said with a grin. "Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know, Joe. But I intend to find out. Can you get me the number?"

"I'll see what I can do."

Our food arrived just then. I started to eat my ribs when Ricky started fussing. I knew it was too good to be true. Always when I want to eat. I wiped my hands on a napkin and picked up Ricky. I had fed Ricky before we left hoping that he would be satisfied and let me eat. I guess not.

"What's the matter? No one paying any attention to you." I said to Ricky. "Joe, can I ask you another question?"

"Sure." He said and continued eating.

"How did you know where to find the house?"

"Huh?"

"The house, Ranger's house. How did you know where to find it? I know I didn't tell you where it is. I was hesitant to call 911 that night and tell the dispatcher where the house is."

"You told me on the phone when you called."

"Shit. That means whoever called, knows where we live. Did she give you the code to the gate?"

"No. She said that you or rather she would be waiting and would open the gate."

Ranger chose that moment to walk in. He walked over to us. He took Ricky from me and sat in the chair in next to me.

"Dada." Ricky said.

"Babe. Why don't you finish eating? I have some questions to ask myself."

"You were listening in?" Joe asked.

"I am wired." I said as I start to eat again.

"So, Morelli. What did Steph or this mystery woman say exactly?" Ranger asked while he bounced Ricky on his knee.

Joe wiped his mouth and hands while still chewing. He leaned back in his seat and looked at us. His eyes going from me to Ranger and back. He cleared his throat.

"She said. 'Hey, Joe. I know it is short notice, but Ranger is leaving tomorrow on a business trip. I hate being out here by myself, so I thought you could join me and keep me company.' Then I said, 'I thought you were the happily engaged couple.' Then the person laughed and said, 'I'm a good actress. I r-e-a-l-l-y miss you Joe.' Then I said. 'O.K. when and where?' and she said 'Tomorrow night, 12:30 a.m. The baby should be sound asleep by then' and then she gave me the address. Of course this was all said rather quietly like she didn't want anyone to overhear."

"So, you don't know for sure that it was Steph's voice." Ranger stated rather than questioned.

Joe shook his head.

"This is someone who has obviously been watching me." Ranger said.

"You? Why all of a sudden is this about you?" Joe said sarcastically.

"Well, for starters, whoever this is, knew I was going out of town, but didn't really know that Steph was going with me. They knew where my house is."

"Could, whoever this person is, be trying to set Joe up? You know lure him to a location by using me knowing he wouldn't say no."

"That's a thought Babe. You make any enemies lately Morelli?" Ranger was still holding Ricky but put his free arm around me. Clearly marking his territory.

"What about you?" Joe challenged Ranger. "Was this person then going to try and lure one of your men to the house so they would find me there with Steph? Knowing that they would report right back to you."

Ranger nodded his head at that possibility. "Which could also bring us back to Steph being the intended victim again. Knowing that you and I would go at each other and one of us would have been seriously hurt. Which in turn would hurt her."

"All this supposition is making my head hurt. What do we do now?" I asked.

"I think the first step is to get that phone number. It might be a dead end but we could get lucky."

"Maybe this person isn't all that smart and used their home phone or cell phone." I said.

"I'll get it for you." Joe said.

I looked at him. "You are willing to help?"

"Yeah, believe it or not I still care for you Steph. And if someone is messing with you and your happiness, I want them stopped."

"You wouldn't by any chance have all your calls monitored or taped?" Ranger asked knowing that all calls into RangeMan are monitored and taped.

"Uh, I can check for you. We do monitor calls but not all the time. Only when there is a big case."

"Any big cases you are working on now?" I asked.

"Can't tell you that, Cupcake." I rolled my eyes. Yeah, yeah. Been there, done that.

"Do you think you can get us a copy of the tape?"

"I will have to check." Joe said. "So, are you two back together? Or did you never break up?"

"We're together." Was all Ranger would say.

"So there is still going to be a wedding?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. There is still going to be a wedding." I said. I put my head on Ranger's shoulder.

Joe nodded his head. "Well, I am happy for you, Cupcake. I heard how devastated you were when Ranger left you."

"He didn't leave me. I kicked him out." I said defensively. "He didn't believe me when I said that I didn't set up a rendezvous with you."

"Babe." He turned to me and gave me a kiss. "I believe you."

"Do you? Did you believe me before this lunch date? Or now after you had me wired so you could listen in? What if Joe and I made all this crap up knowing you were listening in? Do you still believe me?"

"Babe?" Ranger asked.

"I'm sorry. I am getting paranoid. Someone is after one of us or maybe all three of us. Someone could be watching us right now. Maybe they are laughing at us. Maybe they are trying to make us look like fools. Making us go at each other. You being mad at me because you thought I was cheating on you. Me being mad at you for not believing me. Me being mad at Joe for feeding the gossip. You being mad at Joe for stepping in on you. Joe being mad at me for dumping him. Joe being mad at you for taking me away."

I said taking a breath. "The only one here that isn't mad at anyone is Ricky. So maybe he is the one that made the phone call and set this whole thing up. After all it was because he got sick that things ended up the way they did."

Ranger and Joe looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"What?" I asked.

"Babe, he is a baby. He can't talk."

"Look at you. You are even defending him. Of course, I know it's not him. But if he hadn't gotten sick, you and I would have been in Boston and Joe. . ."

"Joe would still have shown up at the house." Ranger finished.

"And then what would have happened? Was it foiled because I was home with a sick baby? I wouldn't have been there to open the gate."

"Morelli, you didn't notice any other cars on the road when you came over did you?" Ranger asked.

Joe shook his head. "I wasn't paying attention. I was making sure I had the right house. Not too many houses out that way."

"No, there isn't. Which is why I asked if you saw any other vehicles. Nothing was parked on the side of the road?"

"I don't recall, but then I probably would have thought it was someone pulled over to make out with a girlfriend. It would be the perfect place for it. No street lights, no traffic."

"Morelli, are you working on a case that is high profile?" Ranger asked again.

"I can't say anything." Joe answered.

"But someone is trying to get you out of the way." I said.

"And trying to use either one or both of you as scapegoats. If something happened to me, it would have happened on your property."

"But we would have been gone." I said.

"But this person maybe didn't know that." Ranger said. "They obviously knew I was going to be gone but not you."

"Or did and that is why they set it up the way they did." Joe said.

We looked at each other. Ranger cleared his throat. "We need the tape and phone number."

"I'll get on it as soon as I get back." Joe said.

Ranger took his phone out and made a call. "I need Hector to go out to the house and check the parameter and see if there is anyway anyone can get in or if there is a break in the fence. Have him check the cameras and motion sensor to see if they have been tampered with."

"Joe, can I ask you another question?" I asked.

"Sure Steph. I'll answer it if I can." Joe answered.

"Why were you spreading it around that you and I we sneaking around behind Ranger's back?"

Joe looked at me like I lost mind again. "I never said anything to anyone other than that I happened to be at your house when you had to rush Ricky to the hospital. You know how the Burg twists things and exaggerates things. I wouldn't put it past someone to say that you and I are back together and we are getting married. They are probably saying that Ricky is my son. But you can tell by looking at him that he is Ranger's son. So don't go getting all bent out of shape and demand a paternity test." He said this to Ranger. "You can rest assured that I haven't been with Steph for almost two years. As much as I hate to admit it."

"I appreciate your honesty." Ranger said.

"Now if we can just get Ernesto to believe it." I said.

"Huh?" Joe questioned.

"Ernesto is Ranger's brother. He doesn't believe that Ricky is Ranger's. He told Ranger to get a paternity test done." I explained.

"Why?" Joe asked.

"He thinks that I am trying to trick Ranger into marrying me." I gave him the cliff notes version.

"Is he still alive?" Joe looked at Ranger. I nodded my head. "He obviously doesn't know you very well, Cupcake. You avoided marriage like the plague. Until now." He added quietly.

"Come on, Babe. Let's go." Ranger threw some bills down on the table. I strapped Ricky in his carrier and we went out to the parking lot. The lot was empty except for my SUV and Joe's POS department-issued vehicle. I looked at Ranger wondering where his car was.

"I came with Tank and Bobby. They probably just left. I'll drive." He said. We just got to the SUV and Ranger was opening the car door for me to put Ricky in back.

Just then shots rang out.

**TBC Chapter 14 - Aftermath**


	14. Chapter 14

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and Starting Our Life Together. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 14  
****Aftermath**

We dove to the ground. Ricky started screaming. I was frantically trying to get Ricky unstrapped from the carrier. I finally managed it and pull Ricky under me. Ranger was then on top of me. More shots were being fired. I knew Ranger was trying to get a location. I couldn't see where Joe was.

Two black SUV's pulled into the parking lot and headed over to us. They formed a barrier around us. Like covered wagons forming a ring. Men in black got out with guns drawn. Tank got out and came over to us. The shooting stopped.

"Are you O.K? Anyone hurt?" He asked.

Ranger got off of me and scanned me as he did. I looked Ricky over to see if he was hurt. He was still crying. He look O.K. I am sure he was shook up. I looked at Ranger and he looked fine. I looked for Joe. I didn't see him. Just then I heard a whistle.

"Wow." Lester said. He was holding the carrier. There was a bullet hole in it. Right where Ricky's head would have been. I had just stood up and immediately felt my knees go weak. Ranger caught me before I hit the ground.

"I guess it's time to upgrade to a different car seat." I said before I started to cry. Ranger pulled Ricky and me into his arms.

I heard someone calling for an ambulance. I was just about to say I didn't need one when I remembered Joe. We move out from the barrier of SUV's and found Joe lying on the ground. Hal was there putting pressure on Joe's chest. Bobby was on his cell phone calling it in.

"Oh my God!" I cried out. "Joe!"

I heard the sound of sirens as they raced to the scene. The first there was a blue and white. Carl and Big Dog got out and came over to us. They saw Joe on the ground.

"Shit, Steph." Carl said. "Did you shoot him or did Ranger?"

"Neither. We just came out from having lunch together when it became open season on us." I said.

Lester came over with the carrier and showed it to Carl and Big Dog. "Shit." Carl said again. He got on his phone and called in for more back up.

Soon the parking lot was crowded again with blue and whites, ambulances, more black SUV's. An EMT came over to check us out to make sure we weren't hit. They checked Ricky over to make sure. They didn't say it but they knew that had Ricky been in that carrier there wouldn't have been any chance of him surviving. I tried not to think of it but I held on tight to my baby.

They loaded Joe into the ambulance and headed out to St. Francis Hospital. I turned to Ranger and he nodded his head knowing that I wanted to go to the hospital too. We turned to go to where my SUV was parked when I stopped and turned.

"Um, hey guys. How did you know to come back here?" I asked.

"We had just left when you were leaving the restaurant. We heard the gun shots from your wire." Lester said.

"Oh." Was all I could say. I had forgotten I had it on. I climbed into the SUV holding Ricky. I know it was wrong but I wasn't going to use the carrier with the gaping hole in it. Besides the police were keeping it as evidence. I looked around and noticed police combing the area for clues and more evidence. A shiver went down my spine when I think about what might have happened.

I reached into my shirt and pulled the wire out. I turned it off and handed it to Ranger. He slipped it into his pocket. We pulled into the hospital parking lot and went into the ER. I saw Eddie Gazarra and Robin Russell and went over to them.

"Have you heard anything yet?" I asked.

"No other than they rushed him to the OR. He has a bullet wound to his chest and it hit his lung. Other than that I don't know." Eddie said.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"We were having lunch together. The three, I mean four of us. We were just leaving the restaurant and walking to our cars when someone started shooting. We hit the deck. I got Ricky unstrapped from his carrier and covered him. Ranger's men showed up and surrounded us, shielding us from the shooter with their SUV's. The shooting stopped. And Joe was hit and the carrier that Ricky was in has a big gaping hole right where his head would be." I didn't tell them why we were having lunch together or what we talked about.

"Fuck." Eddie said. "Is Ricky all right?"

"Yeah. I think he was scared with the noise and everything. But he wasn't hurt." I said as I bounced Ricky in my arms.

"Thank God." Robin said.

Just then Mrs. Morelli and Grandma Bella arrived. They saw me and ignored me. I handed Ricky to Ranger and walked over to them.

"Mrs. Morelli, Grandma Bella. I am sorry about Joe." I said. I was sorry in more ways than one.

"Do you know what happened?" Mrs. Morelli asked.

"We were having lunch together. Me, Carlos, Ricky and Joe. We were just walking to our cars when someone started shooting. Joe got hit and is in surgery right now. He was hit in the chest and it punctured his lung. That is all I know."

"You were having lunch with my Joey? You little slut. You hurt my Joey." Grandma Bella said.

"We were having a friendly lunch together. Joe and I are still friends. I am sorry things didn't work out for Joe and me. But we still want to be friends."

"You teased my Joey into thinking that you would marry him. Then you run off with some other man and then have a child out of wedlock. You are a jezebel." Grandma Bella accused.

"Stop. Stephanie did the right thing. If she didn't love Joseph then she was right to tell him so and leave him. It would have been wrong for him to marry her when she didn't love him. Just leave it alone Bella." Mrs. Morelli said defending Stephanie.

"I just want to you to know that I care about Joe. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. But I don't love him. And I am sorry if I hurt him." I turned and walked back to Ranger and took Ricky from him. He put his arm around me.

Just then the surgeon came out. He went up to Mrs. Morelli and Grandma Bella. We all walked a little closer so we could hear also.

"Mrs. Morelli? I am Dr. Anderson. Your son is going to be alright. We removed the bullet. And fixed his lung. He is being moved to ICU for the night. You can go and see him but only for a few minutes." Dr. Anderson said.

"Thank you, doctor." Mrs. Morelli said. The doctor walked away.

Ranger walked up to Joe's mother. "Mrs. Morelli? I'm Carlos Manoso. I own RangeMan Inc. which is a security company. I have reason to believe that someone is trying to hurt your son. I would like your permission to post guards outside his door to prevent any unauthorized people from entering."

"Why do you think someone is trying to hurt my son?" Mrs. Morelli asked.

"I'll tell you who hurt my son. The jezebel that you are now sleeping with." Grandma Bella said.

"It is the reason we were having lunch today. We think it has to do with a case your son is working on. Someone doesn't want him to find out something or thinks he already knows something. He was asking me for some help." Ranger said. It might not have been totally true. Especially about Joe asking for his help. But someone tried to kill him today. I think that Ranger is right and that guards are needed.

"I don't know." Mrs. Morelli said.

"Mrs. Morelli. Joe's life is in danger. If putting guards at his door prevents something bad from happening I think you should allow it. At least until Joe comes around and can make the decision himself." I said.

"Alright. Only until Joe can decide for himself." Mrs. Morelli conceded. "Thank you Mr. Manoso." She turned to Grandma Bella and they headed for the ICU.

Ranger got on his phone and called Tank. "I need two guards posted at Morelli hospital room. Round the clock. Six hour shifts."

Eddie and Robin came over to us. "What the hell is going on?" Eddie asked. "Why does Joe need to have guards. And RangeMan guards at that."

I looked at Ranger and he nodded his head telling me to go ahead and let them in on what we suspect. "We think that someone is after Joe. The night he came to our house and took Ricky and me to the hospital, he was lured there by someone who said she was me. I wasn't suppose to be home that night. I was supposed to be with Ranger in Boston, but stayed home because Ricky was getting sick. We think that he would have been ambushed while waiting for the gate to open. It was just luck or what have you that I was there and opened the gate for him to enter."

"Holy shit." Eddie said.

"Do you happen to know what case he is working on?" Ranger asked.

Eddie shook his head. "He doesn't tell us anything. But I do know that he has been working with the Feds on something. And if the Feds are involved it could be mob related."

Ranger nodded his head.

"So you and he weren't having an affair?" Robin asked.

I shook my head.

"But then why is everyone saying that they heard from Joe that you were?" She asked.

"I think Joe wanted people to think that, so he didn't deny it when people asked. I think he might have realized he was set up when I opened the door and he saw how surprised I was when I saw him there. I was expecting Tank because I called him. But when I saw Joe, all I was thinking of was getting Ricky to the hospital as fast as I could and knew Joe had his Kojak light. He wasn't expecting to have to rush a baby to the hospital."

"Eddie do you think you can get us the phone records of the calls to Morelli's phone and see if we can get a tape of the conversation? Joe was going to that when he got back to the station."

"I don't know. I am just a street cop not a detective. But I'll see what I can do. What day are we looking at?"

"March 5. He said the call came in around 8:00 a.m. It was a woman. She said she was Stephanie."

"He didn't recognize the voice?" Robin asked.

"He said it was low. Like the person didn't want anyone overhearing. He thought that Stephanie didn't want me or anyone to over hear her setting up a rendevous." Ranger answered.

"And it wasn't you." Eddie said looking at me.

I shook my head. "No, I was busy packing for our trip."

"O.K. I'll let you know if I find anything." Eddie turned to leave.

"Eddie. Try and keep this quiet. We don't want to the Burg to find out and the person responsible for shooting Morelli to get away." Ranger said. Eddie nodded and he and Robin left.

"Come on Babe. There isn't much we can do here. Let's go home." Ranger said taking my hand as we walked to the elevator.

_______________

Later that night Eddie called with the phone number. "Hey, Steph. Ranger around? I think we got a phone number from our mystery woman."

"Yeah Eddie. Let me get him." I put my had over the mouth piece. "Carlos, Eddie says he has the phone number." I passed the phone to Ranger.

**Ranger's POV**

"Yo." Ranger said using his usual greeting.

"Ranger. I think we got a phone number."

"O.K. Give it to me."

"555-9865"

"I hope we can get something on it. Did you have anyone run it at the station?"

"No you said to keep it quiet. I thought I'd let you run it and then if it's something that needs to be passed to my superiors, you'd let me know."

"I'll keep you posted." Ranger hung up. And quickly dialed again.

"Yo." Ram answered.

"Ram. I need you to run a phone number."

"Isn't this usually Steph's job?"

"Yes, normally. But she is on a leave of absence for a few days."

"O.K. Hit me." Ram said.

Ranger repeated the number. "Let me know the minute you got anything."

"Got it." Ram hung up.

Steph looked at Ranger. "I'm on a leave of absence? Since when?"

"Yes. Since today."

"Why?"

"Until I know what is going on and how you are somehow tied to it, you are on a leave of absence."

"Carlos, I work in a secure building. If you think I am staying here by myself you are crazy. They were going to use your home and your property for something. I would think you would want me with you so you can keep an eye on me."

"You're right. I guess I was thinking that it was secure here."

Early, Hector came out to check the security system on the house. He found where someone had tampered with the cameras and motion detectors in the far back corner. They somehow rigged it so that it kept playing on a loop the same scene over and over again. A tree had blown over and was leaning up against the fence making it easy to climb over. Ranger ordered the tree to be cut down and made sure there were no trees within twenty feet of the fence. Hector fixed the cameras and motion detectors. But I still wasn't going to stay at the house by myself until this individual or individuals were caught.

Just then the phone rang again. It was Ram.

"Talk." Ranger said.

"Got a fix on that number. It belongs to a Carmela Santini. We ran a search on her. She is the girlfriend of Fredrico Astiago."

"Shit. What do we know about Astiago?"

"Not a nice guy. Is involved in a lot of different things. Mainly drugs and stolen merchandise like cars. Word is he uses the stolen cars and hides the drugs inside. Inside the doors, seats, wheels. He has been going across state lines but has now moved to over the border into Canada. Which is probably why the Feds are involved."

"And if he is crossing the border, Homeland Security is involved. Got an address for Ms. Santini?"

"Yep. 4524 Prospect Avenue."

"Send someone over there to check thing out. I'll meet them there." Ranger hung up.

"We got a lead. I need to go and check it out."

"You aren't leaving me alone here. I used to think this was a safe haven. But not anymore."

"I can take you to RangeMan. You can stay there until I get back."

"Sounds good. Let me pack some things for Ricky." I ran up the stairs and started to gather stuff for Ricky. Thirty minutes later we were headed out the door.

**TBC** **Chapter 15 - At The Hospital 2**


	15. Chapter 15

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 15  
****At The Hospital 2**

Ranger didn't get back from surveillance until late, or early depending on how you look at it. So we ended up staying over at RangeMan. Mostly because Ricky and I were sound asleep when he got in. He also left early in the morning too. I don't know how he does it. I can't function with anything less than six hours of sleep. It used to be eight hours or more, but since Ricky came, my sleep pattern changed to match his. Including naps if I could swing it.

I decided to go and see if Joe was awake yet. I armed myself with a laptop. I thought I would look at wedding invitations on the internet while I wait. I still had a wedding to plan for even though things were crazy at the moment. I figured Ranger still had guards posted outside Joe's hospital room and that I would be safe there. I asked Ella if she could keep an eye on Ricky as I didn't want him at the hospital with me and I didn't feel safe with him at my parents' house. I still couldn't get the hole in the carrier out of my head and it sent shivers up and down my spine every time I thought about it.

I went to tell Ranger where I was going. "Hey, I'm going to go to the hospital and see if Joe is awake yet. I left Ricky with Ella."

"O.K. Babe. Call me when he wakes up."

I got to the hospital. Junior and Hal were guarding Joe's room. I said 'hi' to the guys and then entered Joe's room. He was still out. I made myself at home and started surfing the internet looking at wedding invitations.

The nurse came in to check on Joe. She gave me a look.

"Fiancé?" She asked looking at my ring.

I looked up and saw what she was looking at. "What? No. Just a very good friend."

"Does your fiancé know that you are here with your 'very good friend'?"

"Those are his men that are outside guarding this room."

"Oh."

She went back checking the monitors and the pump on the IV. She then left not saying anything else.

I looked up when I felt someone looking at me. Joe was awake. I smiled at him and got up.

"Hi." I said. "You're in the hospital. You were shot in the chest. It collapsed your lung that is why you have been intubated. They got the bullet out. Doctor said you'll live." I gave him another smile. "Do you want me to call the nurse?"

Joe nodded. I pressed the call button and the nurse came back in. She took some notes and then left saying she'll let the doctor know he was awake. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor came in. He checked some things and said that things looked good and that they'll remove the tube. The nurse came in to assist and they removed the tube.

I went and got some water and a straw for Joe. I gave him a sip. He lay back on the pillow as though it zap all his energy to take that sip.

"What are you doing here?" He finally asked.

"I was worried. I didn't want you to wake up alone and not know what happened." I told him. He nodded his head.

"What happened?" He asked after another sip of water.

"You remember having lunch with Ranger and me?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Do you remember the shooting?"

Joe shook his head.

"We walked out of the restaurant and headed over to where our cars were parked. Gun shots erupted. When it was all over, you were hit and Ricky's carrier had a big hole in it where his head would be."

Joe's eyes got big. "Ricky?"

"He is fine. I managed to get him unbuckled and I shielded him from the bullets in time."

"Fuck."

"That pretty much sums it up. We got the phone number of the call that came in from the woman who said she was me. Ranger had someone run it and it turns out that it belongs to a Carmela Santini. Ring a bell?"

"Yeah, Fredrico Astiago's girlfriend. What else did you learn?"

"We checked into Fredrico. He is not a nice guy. Seems he is into drug smuggling. So you're working with the Feds?"

Joe nodded. "How did you get the phone number?"

"Ranger asked Eddie to see if he could get it."

"What else?"

"That's it. Just the number. You aren't in any trouble, are you?"

"No. Just working on the case. The Feds don't like it when unauthorized people get involved with their cases."

"Ranger has guards outside your room so no one can get to you in your vulnerable state. Do you want me to call him? He asked that I call when you woke up. He can tell you more about what they had dug up."

Joe nodded. I called Ranger and he said he would be there in twenty minutes. I told Joe and told him to sleep until Ranger got there. He nodded his head and closed his eyes. Soon he was asleep again. I picked up my laptop and started surfing again.

______________

Ranger arrived. He came over to me and gave me a kiss. I looked over at Joe. He was awake and saw the whole thing. His eyes showed the pain from his heart. I gave him a sad smile. I cleared my throat.

"I think I'll wait out in the hall. There is only one visitor allowed in here at a time." I picked up my laptop and walked out of the room.

________________

**Joe's POV**

"So what have you found out about Astiago and Santini?" I asked.

"Not much more than you already know." Ranger said. "Did Steph fill you in on what we think happened?"

"Yeah, somewhat. Why don't you tell me?"

"You already know about Astiago's illegal drug smuggling operation. Somehow he knows you are working with the Feds. He asked his girl friend to call you and tell you she was Steph. That means they have been looking into you. Your friends, your family. What you like to eat and drink. Your favorite TV shows, etc. They know about you and Steph. That is not good. Now her life is in jeopardy."

"That makes us even."

"So is our son's."

"Steph told me what happened in the parking lot."

"We don't have any leads on the shooting yet. Your guys aren't exactly forth coming with information."

"I'll make a few phone calls and see what they have."

"We've been trying to get a lead on Ms. Santini but she hasn't shown up at her place. So either she is someplace else or she has out lived her usefulness. My guess because the original attempt to get to you didn't work, Astiago had her eliminated. It wouldn't be the first time he has done that."

"Must have been true love." I said sarcastically.

"We have also been watching Mr. Astiago. So far nothing out of the ordinary. He is being the model citizen. We have tapped into his computer system and haven't found anything that would lead to you, but we are still working on it."

"The Feds have been trying to set up a drug sale. I'll call my contact and see if one has been set up.

"I have guards watching your mother and grandmother. I am sure Steph has told you that there are guards outside your room."

"I appreciate it. What about Steph and Ricky?"

"We are staying at RangeMan for the moment. Steph is afraid to stay at the house right now."

"I am sorry if I put your family in danger." I said.

"It's one of the reasons I didn't want to start a relationship with Stephanie. I was afraid that someone from my past, or from a case I was working on, would use her to get back at me."

"What changed your mind?" I asked.

Ranger looked at me for what seemed like an eternity. He finally answered. "I fell in love with her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." I nodded my head. I couldn't say anything more. Ranger stood up.

"I'll let you get some rest. Call me when you get the information from your contact. Hopefully, the Feds will be willing to work together on this. They can sometimes be uncooperative."

I nodded my head again and closed my eyes.

________________

**Steph's POV**

Ranger walked out of the room. I was talking with Junior and Hal. "Hey Babe, you ready to go home? Joe is asleep again."

"Yeah. Let me get my purse." I walked back into the room. I collected my purse and went over to Joe's bed. I brushed his unkept hair off his face and kissed him on the forehead. Joe opened his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't want to wake you. I just wanted to say bye. I'll come by again tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Thanks for being here, Cupcake."

I left his room. His mother and grandmother were in the hall. I told them that he woke up and the doctor had removed his breathing tube. I told them that Joe was sleeping again. Joe's mother thanked me and she went into the room leaving Grandma Bella to glare at me.

"Jezebel." She said.

Ranger took my hand and led me down the hall to the elevator.

________________

Joe called and talked to Ranger later that day. He gave him the name of the agent working on the case. Ranger called him and set up a meeting.

I decided that I needed to get to back to work. I didn't want the guys to think that I am a slacker because I was with Ranger and was going to marry him. I was in my cubicle when Ranger came over. Agent Nelson was with him.

"Babe." He said. "I'd like you to meet Agent Jeff Nelson."

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Manoso." Agent Nelson said.

"Uh. It's Plum." I said. Ranger just gave me a look.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you two were married." He said sheepishly.

"Not yet. September."

"Oh. Congratulations. I understand you have a son?"

"Yes, he is upstairs taking a nap. Which is why I have a baby monitor on my desk." I tapped it with my pen.

"Babe. Agent Nelson was one of the agents we were working with when Scrog kidnapped Julie."

"Oh. You were with Meri Maisonet."

"Yeah, she was my partner then."

"It's nice to see you again. If I can help with anything let me know. I need to get this search done before Ricky wakes up. So if you will excuse me I need to get back to work."

"Nice to see you again...uh...Ms. Plum." Agent Nelson said. He and Ranger went into Ranger's office.

A half an hour later, Ranger called me and asked if I would come into his office. I was about to get up when I heard Ricky crying on the baby monitor. Shit, I thought. I saw Ram walking by just then and called to him.

"Hey, Ram. Can you do me a favor?" I asked.

"Sure. What do you need?" He asked.

"Ranger just asked me to come to his office. Ricky just woke up from his nap. Can you go up and get him for me?"

"Sure. Just so long as I don't get stuck babysitting." Ram said.

"Not a problem. Just bring him to Ranger's office."

I got to Ranger's office and knocked. Ranger answered with his usual. "Enter."

I opened the door and walked in. I smiled at Ranger. He motioned me to one of the chairs. "Babe. Agent Nelson has some interesting developments on the case."

"Oh?" I said.

"Yes. A body was discovered yesterday in an abandoned warehouse on Stark. It was a woman. We have identified her as Carmela Santini."

"Oh. I guess her boyfriend wasn't happy with her performance the other day." He handed me a picture. "I don't think I have ever seen her before. Should I know her?" I asked.

"Are you sure? She had one of your business cards in her possession when we found her."

"I don't know how she got it. I've never seen her before. Could someone else given it to her or plant it on her?"

"It's a possibility, Babe. We needed to ask you though. It could be she was keeping tabs on you. She may have called here asking about you. I am having our phone records looked into and see if there is the same number that was on Morelli's phone."

"Why would she be keeping tabs on me?"

"To know when you weren't at the house."

"Oh I see. So they could get on the property and disable the security. Still doesn't explain how she got one of my cards"

There was a knock on the door. Ranger didn't look too happy with the interruption. "Enter." Ram walked in with Ricky.

"There's my big boy." I cooed at him. Ricky was all smiles.

"Uh. I took care of the diaper for you and in case you didn't notice he has a different outfit on. He was sort of soaked. I let Ella know that his bedding probably needs to be changed." Ram informed me.

"Thank you, Ram. I appreciate it." I said. Ram turned and left the office closing the door behind him.

I turned back to Agent Nelson and Ranger. "This is Ricky." I said to Agent Nelson.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you Ricky." Agent Nelson said taking Ricky's small little hand and giving it a little shake. Ricky giggled.

"So what else have you found out?" I said getting back to the business on hand.

"Not much. Mr. Astiago hasn't been seen for a while. It could be that he is laying low. Or maybe he isn't responsible for Carmela's death and that whoever killed her, killed him."

"Great. Just what we need. A tangled web of killers." I said. "Do you have any idea who was shooting at us the other day?"

"All we know is that it was an assault rifle."

"So now what?" I asked.

"We stay alert and keep looking." Agent Nelson said.

________________

Joe had been moved out of ICU and into a private room courtesy of Ranger. There were still guards outside his room. I called Joe from the parking lot.

"Hello?" Joe answered his phone.

"Hey Joe. It's Steph. Are your mom and grandma there?" I asked.

"No, they just left."

"Thank God. I don't think I could tolerate being called a jezebel one more time."

"I am sorry about that, Cupcake."

"I'm in the lobby now. I'm on my way up for a visit."

"O.K. I'm not going anywhere."

I got in the elevator and hit the floor that Joe was on. When the elevator doors opened I spotted the guards down at the end of the hall. I headed in that direction. As I was passing the nurse's station, someone called my name. I stopped hoping it wasn't Joe's mom and grandma.

"Steph? Oh my God! Stephanie Plum." The person said. I turned to look at who was calling to me. I didn't recognize the person at first. Then it clicked. It was Kelly Larson. We went to school together from Kindergarten thru High School.

"Kelly?" I asked.

"Yeah" She said.

"Wow! It has been ages."

"How have you been?"

"I've been good. And you?"

"Good. I had to move back to Trenton. My dad passed away and I am here to take care of my mom."

"You moved to Philly didn't you?"

"Yeah. What about you? You ever leave Trenton?"

"For a while I lived in Newark. Until I got laid off from my job. I've been here ever since."

"I heard you got married."

"And it didn't last a year. What about you. Did you get married?"

"Yeah. It lasted a little longer than yours. Any kids?"

"Yeah, I have a son. Not from my marriage though."

"Oh, that must have got the Burg tongues wagging."

"Among many other things that have happened in my life since I moved back. Well, I better go and see my friend."

"Oh? Are you here to see Joe Morelli? I saw his name on the patient list. Are you seeing each other again? Is he the father of your son?"

"No, we aren't together and he is not the father of my son."

"Oh." Kelly got real quiet. "Is Joe married, is he seeing anyone?"

"Not that I know of." I answered. "Well it was nice to see you again, Kelly." I continued on down the hall. I looked back to see if Kelly was watching me, but she went on with whatever it was that she was needed to do. I never did find out what it was that she did. I never asked if she even worked at the hospital.

Zero and Manny were on duty today. I said 'hi' to them and entered Joe's room.

"Took you long enough, Cupcake." Joe said.

"Sorry, I ran into an old friend from school. You remember Kelly Larson?"

"Sort of. I only had eyes for you in school."

"You only had eyes for Terry Gilman while you were in school." I added. "I brought lunch. I know how God awful the food is around here." I pulled out two Pino's meatball subs.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Joe said.

"Yes." Was all I said. I pulled up a chair and handed Joe a sandwich.

"So anything new on the case?" Joe asked.

"They found Carmela Santini."

"They did?"

"Yeah, dead."

"Where?"

"Stark Street. Abandoned warehouse."

"Not going to get any information from anyone about that."

"Nope."

"So any other leads? What about Astiago?"

"No. Nothing last I heard."

We ate a little bit more in silence.

"So, have they said when you are getting out of here?" I asked.

"End of the week." Joe said.

"Are you sure it's safe to go home?"

"Where else am I supposed to go?"

"A safe house."

"Yeah, right."

"Why is it you were all for a safe house when some crazy was after me, but when some crazy is after you, you won't go?"

"I can take care of myself."

"Yeah. And that is why you are here in the hospital."

"I'm a cop, Steph. I should be able to take care of myself."

"You are an injured cop. You were shot in the chest. You aren't exactly 100 percent. How are you going to take care of yourself?"

"I'll manage."

"Joe, someone is trying to kill you. There has been at least one attempt, possibly two, if you count the night Ricky had to be taken to the hospital. Both times luck seemed to be on your side. The next time you might not be so lucky."

"I can't hide. We might have a better chance of catching him if I was out in the open."

"You must have a death wish."

"And you didn't put yourself in harm's way in hopes of catching the bad guys like Scrog? Besides there isn't much for me anymore now that you are going to marry Manoso."

"Oh, no. Do not lay a guilt trip on me. We have been over for more than two years now. And when we were together, it wasn't all that good. We were either fighting or having sex. We just weren't right for each other."

"Do you think we would have worked out if Ranger never entered the picture?"

"If Ranger never entered the picture, you would probably be in prison somewhere. I wouldn't have had him to show me the ropes on bounty hunting. I wouldn't have been able to help you clear your name. So, no I don't think we would have worked out."

We finished eating in silence.

"So I guess we are just going to be friends?"

"Yeah, Joe. I would like for us to be friends."

"Then I guess I will take what I can get."

"I better get going."

"Thanks for lunch, Steph."

"You're welcome. I'll stop in again before you are discharged. And please think about going to a safe house."

"I'll think about it." He said.

I gathered my stuff. Gave Joe a kiss on the cheek and left. I said 'good-bye' to Zero and Manny and headed down the hall to the elevators. I was glad that I didn't run into Kelly again.

**TBC Chapter 16 - Fire At Midnight**


	16. Chapter 16

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 16  
****Fire at Midnight**

It was the middle of the night when the phone rang. Ranger answered it. I heard him say a few words and then he hung up. He rolled over to me.

"I gotta go, Babe." He said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Someone threw a Molotov cocktail thru Morelli's window."

"Ohmigod!" I sat up in the bed. "Is everyone O.K.?"

"They were able to contain the fire. Living room is toast."

"What about Bob?"

"I don't know, Babe. I'll find out and let you know." He got out of bed and went into the bathroom and got dressed. When he came out, he came over to the bed and gave me a kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He walked out of the bedroom and was gone.

I laid there in the dark. My thoughts were racing. I kept thinking about Joe. His house. Where was Bob? Was he O.K.? I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, so I got up and grabbed my robe and went into the kitchen to get something to drink.

I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. I flipped thru the channels trying to find something to watch. I finally found some old sitcoms on Nick at Nite and decided to watch them until Ranger came home.

I must have dosed off. I felt someone kissing my face and nuzzling my neck. I finally came to and saw Ranger kneeling in front of the couch. He smelled a little smoky.

"Hey."

"Hey, Babe."

"So what is the damage?"

"He is going to need a new picture window, new carpeting, new drapes and a new recliner. A neighbor was just coming home from work and saw the flames and got the garden hose out and was able to contain the fire until the fire department showed up."

"What about Bob?"

"He's fine. Carl Constanza has been taking care of him since Morelli has been in the hospital. So he wasn't there."

"Thank God."

"There's more."

"Oh?"

"Whoever did this, also threw a cocktail into his mother's house."

"Ohmigod!"

"This time there wasn't much damage. Joe's grandma couldn't sleep and was watching TV. So she threw a vase of flowers on it to put out the fire."

"Are you going to move them into a safe house?"

"I already spoke to Morelli. He said he wants his mother and grandma to go to one."

"But what about him?"

"Come on, Babe. We can get a few more hours of sleep."

"Carlos?"

Ranger sighed. "He said he will think about it. He is more concerned about his family's safety than his own."

"He said that since I am marrying you there wasn't anything left for him." I said softly.

"Babe. Let's go to bed. Go and see Morelli tomorrow and try to talk him into going to a safe house when he is discharged."

He took my hand and led me into the bedroom. "Uh, Carlos?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"You smell like a campfire."

"Fine, I'll take a quick shower." He went into the bathroom. I checked on Ricky and went and sat on the bed.

He came out moments later with a towel wrapped around his waist. He got into bed on his side dropping the towel on the floor. He reached for me and pulled me to him. He kissed me. I rested my head on his shoulder and placed my hand on his chest. He held me. My mind was still reeling from all that has happened and I couldn't sleep.

"Babe. Go to sleep. You can figure things out tomorrow."

I closed my eyes but didn't fall asleep until after Ranger went to sleep.

________________

Ranger was up and gone by the time I came to. I noticed that Ricky was not in his crib either. Ranger must have gotten him up and dressed and fed. At least I hoped so. I got up and headed for the bathroom. I showered and got dressed. I found that Ella had left me something for breakfast. I heated it up in the microwave. That is when I noticed that it was after 10:00 a.m. Holy smoke, I thought, the morning was just about gone. I quickly ate breakfast and headed down to the 5th floor.

I went to Ranger's office. I could hear shrieks of laughter coming from inside. I stopped when I got to the door. There was Ranger sitting on the floor playing with Ricky. Ranger was building a tower out of blocks and Ricky would knock them over and laugh. My heart swelled at the sight. Ranger was bonding with his son. I know there have been other times when Ranger would play with Ricky but not during the day when I am sure that Ranger had paperwork to do or phone calls to make. Ricky saw me and shriek. He then started to crawl over to me as fast as his little arms and legs would move.

"Mumum" Ricky said.

I bent down to pick him up as soon as he got to me. I gave him a big kiss. "There is my big boy. Are you having fun playing with Daddy?" I asked Ricky.

"Do you have a kiss like that for me?" Ranger asked as he came over to me.

"There is my other big boy." I said as I lifted my head to meet his lips. The kiss lasted a long time until Ricky tried to get down. I put him down and he crawled back to the blocks.

"Thank you for letting me sleep in this morning." I said to Ranger.

"No problem, Babe. I knew you didn't sleep well last night or should I say this morning. I thought that you needed it." He gave me another long kiss. "Ouch." Ranger said and looked down.

Ricky had thrown a block and hit Ranger in the leg. Ricky giggled. I chuckled too. "I think he wants you to play with him, not me."

"Babe."

"I'll let you get some work done and take him out of here." I said.

"No, it's O.K., Babe. He can stay. Why don't you go and see Morelli? Try to talk him into going to a safe house. I don't mind having Ricky here."

"That's because you probably have paperwork to do and you don't want to do it."

"Babe. Is it a crime to want to play with my son?"

"Not at all. I am glad to see it. Are you sure? What if you get a call and have to leave?"

"I am off-line unless it has to do with Astiago. If something comes up, I'll call Ella."

"O.K. I'll be back for lunch."

"I'll have Ella make us something."

I gave him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He said.

I went back up to the apartment to get my bag. I decided to take my Crossfire. I drove past Joe's mom's house to see the damage. The window was already boarded up. I then went over to Joe's house. Mooch, Joe's cousin, was there boarding up Joe's picture window. I stopped and got out. The chair was already at the curb. Not much left except for the frame.

"Hey, Mooch." I said to him.

"Steph." He replied. "I supposed you heard what happened?"

"Yeah. Are your aunt and grandma O.K. in the safe house?"

"Yeah. Grandma Bella put up a fight. But Aunt Angie dragged her."

"I am heading over to the hospital to see Joe. I thought that I would stop by to see what damage was done. I know Joe is going to ask."

"Go on in and see for yourself." Mooch said.

I walked in. The house smelled like wet chard wood. I don't know how Joe will ever get rid of the smell. The carpet that wasn't burnt was soaking wet. It would have to be removed soon. I walked back out into the fresh air.

"It sure is a mess in there."

"It could have been worse."

"Thank God for the neighbor."

"Hey Steph. Why are you here? Why are you going to see Joe at the hospital? I thought that you are engaged to marry to someone else."

"I am. But Joe is a friend. I still care for him."

"Well maybe you should stay away. I think you have done enough damage."

"You think this is my fault?"

"Well, isn't it? Isn't your fiancé behind all this? Isn't he trying to get rid of Joe?"

"What are you talking about? Ranger isn't behind this."

"He was here last night, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he came to see what happened. He is the one that supplied the safe house for your Aunt Angie and Grandma Bella. He is trying to find out who is trying to kill Joe. He is not the one doing all this. This is all the result of a case your cousin was working on. It has nothing to do with my relationship, or lack thereof, with him. I'm gonna take off now. If there is anything I can do, call me."

"Sure Steph."

I got back into my car. I probably shouldn't have said anything to Mooch about the case, but I wasn't going to let people think that Ranger was trying to get Joe out of the picture.

Damn Burg. I wish they would get their facts straight.

I got to the hospital. I knew that I wouldn't run into Grandma Bella today so I didn't call Joe. Maybe I should have. I got off the elevator on his floor and headed down the hall. Junior and Binkie were on duty today.

"Hey, Steph." Junior said to me. "You may not want to go in there just yet."

"Why? Is the doctor in there?"

"Um. Uh. No." He stuttered.

"Oh. The nurse?"

"Yeah." Binkie said. "I believe he is getting a sponge bath, if you know what I mean."

Just then moaning was coming from inside. "Oh!" I said. "I guess I will go and get some coffee. Can I get either of you anything?"

"A bottle of water." Junior said.

"One for me too." Binkie added.

I turned and went back the way I came.

________________

I got the water for the guys and my coffee and headed back up. I handed the bottles to guys.

"Is the show over?" I asked.

"I haven't heard anything else. Maybe they fell asleep." Junior said.

"So, do you know who is in there with him?"

"Some nurse. At least I think she is a nurse?"

"Did you see her name tag? It wasn't someone dressed like a nurse just so they could get in there and hurt him, was it?"

"I saw the name tag. Kelly somebody. I've seen her before." Binkie said.

"Kelly Larson?" I asked.

"Could've been. Why do you know her?" Binkie asked.

"Yeah, I went to school with her."

Just then the door open and Kelly strolled out clipping her ID tag back on her scrubs.

"Oh, hi Steph." Kelly said.

"Hi Kelly. Is Joe awake?" I didn't know what else to say. What do you say to someone you know was doing the deed just a few minutes ago?

"Um. Uh. Yeah. I gotta get back to work." And she hurried down the hall.

I opened Joe's door and peered in. Joe was lying in the bed with his eyes closed but opened them when he heard the door.

"Oh. I thought Kelly was returning." Joe said.

"I just saw her heading down the hall." I said. "So. . ."

"You know, don't you?"

"Know what?" I asked innocently.

"Ranger's guys said something to you didn't they?"

"What were they supposed to say? That you are doing the horizontal tango with one of the nurses. Did you get clearance from your doctor for that kind of activity?" Joe didn't say anything.

"So have you seen the damage?" Joe said trying to ease the sexual tension still in the room.

"On you? Or to your house? Yeah, I drove over there before coming here. I figured you'd want to know. Mooch was there boarding up your picture window. Your recliner was at the curb already. Carpet is trash. I didn't go into the basement so I don't know about any water damage from water seeping through the floor. You're going to have a hard time getting rid of the smell."

"Great. And I am laid up here."

"I don't think you are suffering too much. Mooch had already been over to your mom's and took care of her window. Ranger moved your mom and grandma into a safe house."

"Yeah, he called me this morning to tell me. I guess Grandma Bella gave him a hard time. She called him a fiend. Said that he was locking her away so she couldn't put the eye on you. She referred to you as that jezebel."

"Yeah. Every time I ran into her, whether it was here or at the store, she would call me that. She never did like me much. All the more reason it would never have worked out for us. At least with Ranger we are in the same boat. He is the fiend and I am the jezebel. Mooch must be listening to Grandma Bella too. He accused Ranger of throwing the cocktails through the windows. He said that Ranger is trying to get rid of you."

Joe sighed. "I'm sorry, Steph. I guess I am partly responsible for that. I may have said some things. I accused Ranger of stealing you away from me. That he seduced you and that I wouldn't put it past him to eliminate me from the competition."

There was silence between us.

"So how long have you been bopping Kelly?" I said trying to change the subject from Ranger and me to something else.

"God, Steph. I can't tell you that."

"Why not? It's not like you haven't told everyone that you did me on the Tasty Pastry floor. So how long? Every day since you've been moved to this floor?"

"No."

"So are you going to keep seeing her once you get out of here?"

"We haven't talked about it."

"Of course not. You were too busy doing other things. You don't talk when you are banging away other than grunts and moans. I suppose you don't have any pillow talk when you are done either. She probably hops off and cleans up and heads back to attend to other patients. Wonder if she treats all her patients like that?"

"Jealous?"

"Not on your life. Just been there. Finish the deed, get up, zip up and leave without looking back. And then find some other piece of ass to do it to down the road."

"Jeez. You are never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope."

"Why are you here? Other than to report on the condition of my house. I could have got that info from Mooch later."

"Joe, please go to the safe house when you get out of here. Someone _really_ wants to get rid of you. And now they tried to hurt your family. Please, Joe."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why someone is trying to hurt you? I don't know. Maybe they think you know something."

"That's not what I am asking."

"Why I want you to go to the safe house?" He nodded. "Because I still care for you. Look. We have been over this before. I love you but not like I love Ranger. I love you like a very good friend or a brother. I don't want to see anything bad happen. Seeing you get shot is as bad as I ever want to get."

"I love you. You know that, Steph."

"Yeah. But now you are bopping the nurses."

"I need to get some relief. You aren't supplying it."

"Joe."

"O.K. I'll go to the safe house. Ranger better find this guy soon. I don't know how long I can stand being with my mom and grandma."

"I am sure we can put you in a separate safe house."

"Thanks, Steph. But I think I can handle it for a while. You know they are just going to grill me about finding someone and settling down."

"Just tell them you started to see a nurse. Maybe they will get off your back."

"Kelly is nice and all. But I don't know if she is what I am looking for."

"Well, maybe you better make up your mind and figure it out. I better go. I told Ranger I would be back for lunch. I'll tell him you will go to the safe house. Take care, Joe. And go easy on the nurses here."

I gave Joe a kiss on the cheek and left the room. I said 'good-bye' to the guys and walked to the elevator. Kelly saw me and hurried over to me.

"Oh God, Steph. You must think I am some sort of slut. I don't normally act that way. Especially with a patient."

"Hey, its O.K. Joe can be charming and a sweet talker. You're not the first to have her pants charmed off of her and you won't be the last."

"You're not mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"Well, you and Joe. . ."

"Look, Kelly. Joe and I have a history. But that is what it is, a history. I still care for him, but I am in love with and am going to marry someone else. What you and Joe do is your business. I have no problem with him seeing someone else. I hope things work out for you two. I gotta go. It was nice to see you again, Kelly."

"Thanks, Steph."

The elevator arrived and I quickly got on. Talking to other people about their sex life was taking a toll. I needed food and a nap. And maybe a quickie with Ranger.

**TBC Chapter 17 - Afternoon with Friends**


	17. Chapter 17

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 17  
****Afternoon with Friends**

I got back to RangeMan just in time for lunch. Ella was just leaving the apartment.

"Oh good. I thought that you forgot about lunch. Carlos and Ricky are at the snack bar. They just started eating." Ella said as she got on the elevator I just vacated.

I quickly entered the apartment. "Sorry I am late." I said.

"I was starting to get worried about you." Ranger said. I sat down next to him at the table. I leaned over for a kiss.

"Mmmm." I said. I looked over to Ricky. He was eating stir-fried rice with his hands, although I think more was getting on him and the floor than he was actually eating.

I lifted the lid off the serving dishes and piled the contents on my plate. There was stir-fried rice that Ricky was eating, chicken and steamed vegetables. Under the other cover I found some egg rolls, so I grabbed two. I smothered them with sweet and sour sauce. I dug in and couldn't believe how hungry I was.

"So how is Morelli?" Ranger asked.

"He is a lot better. Should be discharged in two days. He agreed to go to the safe house."

"What took you so long?"

"I stopped over at his house to see the damage first hand. I knew he would ask me about it. His cousin was there boarding up the window. I talked to him a little bit. He accused you of setting the fires."

"Not my style. Why did he think that?"

"He said that you were trying to get rid of the competition."

"Do I have competition?" He looked at me.

"I'm afraid that you are stuck with me for the long haul." I said with a grin.

"Good to know, Babe." He gave me another kiss.

"When I finally got to the hospital, Joe was indisposed. So I had to wait until he was done."

"Doctor in there?"

"No."

"Was he in the bathroom?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"He was busy doing the horizontal tango with a nurse."

"He sure doesn't let anything stop him, does he?" Ranger said.

"Which is one of the reasons I didn't trust him."

"Do you trust me?'

"Should I have a reason not to?"

"I'm afraid you are stuck with me too."

"Good to know. I was hoping that maybe when Ricky takes his afternoon nap that Daddy might want to play with Mommy. You know. Have some quality time bonding."

Ranger growled at me just as his phone went off.

"Yo." He didn't look happy at the interruption. "O.K., load up, I'll be there in ten."

He turned to me. "Gotta go, Babe. They got a line on Astiago. He is holed up somewhere in Camden. I have to get ready."

He got up and headed for the bedroom. He suited up, bullet proof vest under his hooded sweatshirt, utility belt loaded with his usual arsenal. He was just checking his gun when I walked into the room. He looked up at me and walked over. He pulled me into an embrace.

"Sorry, Babe. I will have to take a rain check on the playtime."

"I understand. Be careful." He gave me a passionate kiss.

I walked him to the snack bar. He gave Ricky a kiss on the head.

"Take care of Mommy while I am gone." He said. Ricky reached over with one of his messy hands and hit Ranger's sleeve and left a sticky hand print. I grabbed a wet cloth that I had nearby to wipe his hands and face. I wiped off as much as I could. I walked Ranger to the door. He turned to me again and gave me another kiss.

"Take care Babe. I love you."

"I love you too, Carlos. Don't get shot."

"Don't go crazy. We'll have playtime when I get back."

And he left.

_______________

I went back to Ricky. I wiped off his hands and face and when I picked him up a load of rice fell on the floor. I sighed. So much for eating lunch. He will probably be hungry in a little while. I left the rice on the floor. I found it easier to clean up once the rice dried up and hardened.

I took Ricky into the bathroom and stripped him down. He had rice everywhere. In his hair. In his neck. In his diaper. I started a bath for him when the phone rang. I went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Skinny assed white girl. Where you've been? Haven't seen you in a while."

"Hey Lula. Been busy. You know being a working mom, planning a wedding. Been to the hospital to see Joe a few times."

"So how is Super cop? Any better?"

"Yeah, he is being discharged in a couple of days. So why did you call, Lula? I was just about to give Ricky a bath."

"Well, Connie and me been talkin' and we haven't seen you in a while and we thought we could get together."

"Well, like I said I was just about to give Ricky a bath. He will probably take his nap after that. You and Connie can come over then. How about if I call Mary Lou and ask her to stop over? We're staying at RangeMan."

"O.K., see you in a little while." I hung up the phone and took Ricky into the bathroom. The tub was a little fuller than I like, so I emptied some of the water. I placed Ricky in his bath seat. I put a few toys in the tub for him.

I shampooed and bathed him and then let him play for a bit. I went out to get some clothes for him. I could hear his shrieking and babbling. I called Mary Lou.

"Hi Mary Lou. It's Steph."

"Long time no hear. How's it going?"

"Good. Lula and Connie are coming over this afternoon. Do you think you can join us?"

"I don't think I can. I gotta pick up the kids from school and then Kenny has soccer practice."

"Oh. I'm sorry you can't join us."

"Me too. I would like to catch up and get the latest dirt."

"Maybe later." I said. "See ya."

"Yeah. Don't be a stranger."

I called the control room. "Hi Steph. This is Woody. Is there a problem?"

"Hi Woody. No problem. I just wanted to let you know that Lula and Connie are going to be stopping over sometime this afternoon. Can you call me and let me know when they show up?"

"Sure Steph. Not a problem. Talk to you later."

"Thanks Woody." I hung up and quickly dialed Ella.

"Hello, Stephanie. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Hi Ella. First I wanted to say thank you for lunch. It was delicious as always. Ricky liked his rice."

"I'm glad. Maybe he will have your appetite." Ella sounded happy.

"Maybe. Secondly, Lula and Connie are coming over later this afternoon. I was wonder if we could have some refreshments?"

"I just made a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I can bring up a plate with some raspberry ice tea."

"That sounds fabulous. Thanks so much Ella. I better get back to Ricky. I let him play in the tub for a while."

"O.K. Dear. Call when you want me to bring up the refreshments."

I went back into the bathroom. There was water everywhere. "How can one little boy make such a mess? Huh?" I said to him as I reached in to pick him up. Ricky giggled. I got him dressed and then went to get him a bottle. I knew he had to be hungry still. I put him in his high chair and gave him the bottle. I was kind of glad that he was starting to hold the bottle himself. Although I still missed the breast feeding. I went to wipe up the floor in the bathroom. I didn't need anyone to slip and fall on the puddles. I drained the tub and wiped it out. Put all the toys in the net to drain. I heard the phone ring so I went to answer it.

"Hi Steph. Just wanted to let you know that your guests have arrived."

"Thanks Woody. I'll be right down."

I picked up Ricky and grabbed my keys and we headed down to the first floor. I got off the elevator.

"Ooh. There's the Batbaby." Lula screamed. "Look at how big he is getting. You know he might be big enough to carry the rings when you and Batman finally tie the knot."

"I don't think so. He needs to learn to walk yet."

We entered the elevator and I pressed the key fob for the seventh floor. We entered the apartment.

"So did Batman go off to get that crazy guy that shot Super cop?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Tank called me. He and I were going to look at houses this afternoon. We is thinking of moving in together. But my place is too small and I don't care to live here."

"Why not? It has the best security. Centrally located. Underground garage. Plenty of people around day and night."

"That just be it. I don't need people dropping in all the time."

"They always call first before dropping in."

"That may be because you living with Batman. A few times when I spent the night here, there were guys knocking on the door all night."

"That probably was Lester." Connie finally said. She hadn't said much since they got there.

"And he was probably doing it on purpose because he was trying to bug Tank and make sure you weren't doing anything you shouldn't be doing." I added.

"We was doing what we should be. We was trying to get our groove on and kept getting interrupted. It just kinda ruins the mood, if you know what I mean." Lula said.

"Yeah, we get what you mean." Connie said.

Ricky had fallen asleep so I got up to put him in his crib. There was a knock at the door and Ella walked in. "Hello, ladies. I brought refreshments."

"Ooh! Just what we need. I hope it is something with sugar." Lula exclaimed.

"Just some cookies and raspberry iced tea." Ella answered.

"Works for me." Lula said.

Ella placed the plate of cookies and pitcher of iced tea on the coffee table. She went to the kitchen for plates and glasses. She placed them on the table as well.

"If you need anything else just give me a call." Ella said as she was leaving.

"Thank you, Ella." I said. Being the hostess, I poured iced tea for the girls. I placed a couple of cookies on each plate and handed them out as well.

"So, Steph, how are the wedding plans coming?" Connie asked.

"I think everything is coming together. I think I found the wedding invitations that I want. I have to ask Ranger."

"Oh, men don't care. All they care about is the wedding night and the honeymoon." Lula said.

"What else do you need to do?" Connie continued with her questions.

"We need to decide if we are going with a DJ or live band." I said. "I am leaning toward a DJ."

Lula sucked in her breath. "You not goin' to have the 'What' perform?"

"Uh, well, I thought that since you are my maid of honor that you wouldn't want to perform too. You have other obligations. You have to give us a toast. You have to be in the grand march, the wedding dance, participate in the bouquet toss. You have to assist me when I need to use the bathroom."

"What? I ain't wiping yo butt."

"No. I can do that. I just need help with the dress and veil."

"What does Ranger want?"

"We haven't discussed it yet. There has been too much going on from Ricky getting sick, to Joe getting shot. He still needs to visit all the other RangeMan locations before we leave on our honeymoon."

"O.K. So, you picked the church, the reception site, the flowers, and the cake. What about songs to be played during the wedding? What song are you going to dance your first dance? Have you picked out your menu?"

"The menu we have narrowed it down some. We are having sit down. No buffet lines."

"Damn girl. You know how much those guys eat? You need more food than what they give you on that plate."

"Well we are having hors D'oeuvres before dinner. Maybe we need to have snacks after dinner."

"So what do you have picked so far?" Connie asked.

"Ooh let's see. Bacon wrapped water chestnuts, veggies and dip, fruit platter, cheese and sausage platter, mozzarella sticks, and chicken and veggie quesadillas. Oh and shrimp."

"That's just hors d'oeuvres right?" Lula asked.

"Yeah. The dinner will have salad, naturally. Italian Antipasto Pasta Salad, Tossed garden salad. Choice of either raspberry pecan chicken, Filet Mignon, Prime Rib or Salmon. Vegetable will be steamed broccoli or glazed carrots. And choice of rice pilaf or twice baked potato. And then in addition to the wedding cake, which is yellow cake with tiramisu filling and raspberry filling. And we're having a tres leche cake for Ranger."

"What is a tres leche cake?" Connie asked.

"It is a cake made from three different types of milk."

"Three different milks? You're not talkin' chocolate, white and strawberry, are you?" Lula asked.

"No, evaporated milk, condensed milk and a heavy cream, like whipping cream. It is then poured over a sponge cake."

"Huh. Never heard of it. Is it any good?"

"Yeah. I liked it but then it was cake. And since when did I ever pass up on cake. So anyway, in addition to those cakes, we will have cheesecake and a chocolate torte. So what do you think? Should we have snacks later on?"

"Wow. I'm stuffed thinking of all that food. So does everyone have to pick what they want when they send in their RSVP? Or will they order right there?" Connie asked.

"They will have to pick when they send in their RSVP. I will have little menus printed up to send along with the invitations. Then we will have the place cards coded with their selections."

"Are you going to have assigned seating?"

"No, that is too much work. Making sure you aren't sitting the Smiths with the Jones. There will be reserved tables for the families and the RangeMan guys and their wives or dates. Obviously the wedding party has the head table. "

"Back to the food. I think that you need to have something for people to munch on. Especially if there is going to be drinking."

"O.K. Let me get the menu and see what we could have." I got up and went to Ranger's office and got the folder from the Hyatt.

"Let's see. Oh, I know we could have homemade tortilla chips and salsa and maybe guacamole, and taco dip and potato chips and French onion dip and ranch dip. What do you think? Or what about pretzels or popcorn?"

"Nah, stick with the chips and dips. The tortilla chips and dips and potato chips and dips." Connie said.

"Let me see this menu thing." Lula said.

"Holy shit G-i-r-l!! I sure hope Batman is footing the bill for all this. This stuff ain't cheap."

"Both Ranger and I are paying for all this."

"Yeah Right! Batman pays you a salary therefore even if it comes from your checkbook it is still Batman's money. You know, all this talk of food has made me hungry. Let's order something for dinner." Lula said rubbing her stomach.

"What do you want, pizza from Pino's?

"Yeah that sounds good."

"O.K. I'll order our usual. Let me call down to the guys and see if they have heard anything from Ranger and see if they want to order pizzas."

I went to the intercom and called down to the control room.

"Hey Steph, what's up?" It was Manny.

"Hi, Manny. Have you heard anything from Ranger and the guys?"

"Nope, sorry sweetheart."

"You'll let me know if you do, right?"

"Of course."

"So, we are ordering pizza from Pino's. You guys interested?"

"Hell, yeah! Hold on." He moved the receiver away and yelled. "Steph and the girls are ordering pizzas what do you guy want?" Suddenly there was yelling and shouting from all over. Finally Manny got back to her. "Can you order two large sausage and mushrooms? Two large pepperonis. Two large sausages, onion, peppers, olives and mushrooms. And eight garlic breads. Ranger picking up the tab?"

"Yeah I'll put it on the RangeMan credit card. Can you call me when it gets there and we'll come down and help bring it up."

"Sure thing, Steph."

I called Ella to tell her not to worry about dinner, and then I called the order in. Because of the size of the order, it was going to take about an hour. I decided to see if Mary Lou wanted to join us.

"Hey Steph, what's up?" Mary Lou asked.

"Hi, Connie and Lula are still here and we are ordering pizzas. Can you join us?"

"Hell, yeah. I need to get out before I commit murder. I'll tell Lenny he can get these hellions their dinner. See you."

"Great. Call when you get here. I'll come down." I hung up. "Mary Lou is going to join us."

"Back to what needs to been done yet. What about a photographer and someone to video tape the event?" Connie asked.

"Ranger is taking care of that. He wants to do background checks on them and make sure they aren't going to make copies to post somewhere on the internet."

"Batman don't want his face to be seen?" Lula said.

"He is security conscious. If he is ever called by the government again, he doesn't need to have the enemy be able to recognize him from a wedding picture. Or have someone come after me or Ricky."

"I thought he be done with all that." Lula said.

"He is, but he can be called back at any time. It is just the way the government works. I don't think it will happen, but you never know."

"O.K. So, you still need a DJ, photographer and someone to video tape. What about rehearsal dinner?" Connie asked

"Hadn't thought about that. Doesn't the groom's family plan that?"

"I think so." Connie said.

"I'll have to talk to Ranger and then talk to his mom. I don't know how the rest of his family will react."

"You still having problems with Batman's family?"

"His mom and dad and his sisters, Celia, Alana, Katarina, Josephina and his sister-in-law Shantel, have all been very supportive. His brother has been downright mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"No!" They both yelled. Just then the phone rang. I answered it. It was Mary Lou. I told her I would be right down.

"You holdin' out on us?"

"I guess I just haven't seen you guys all the much. Let me go down and get Mary Lou and I will tell you."

**TBC Chapter 18 - Spending the Night Waiting**


	18. Chapter 18

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 18  
****Spending the Night Waiting**

I went down to get Mary Lou; the pizza was arriving at the same time. I called to have some of the guys come down to help. Once we got all the orders straighten out. We head back up stairs. The guys got off on the 5th floor and Mary Lou and I continued up to the 7th.

"Where is Carlos?" Mary Lou asked.

"He and some of guys are in Camden looking to the guy we think is responsible for shooting Joe."

"Oh."

"I really don't feel like being alone."

"I understand." Mary Lou said.

When we entered the apartment, Connie had Ricky.

"He woke up." She said.

"Here, why don't I take him and change his diaper, while you guys get plates and some beers."

I took Ricky into the bedroom to change him. I think it was going to be a long night. But it had been a while since I was able to hang with my friends. So I really didn't mind and besides, it kept my mind off of what could be going down with Ranger and the Merry Men.

I came back out with Ricky. I got him situated with some Cheerios. I would feed him later. I wanted to eat my pizza while it was still hot.

"You were telling us about Ranger's brother." Connie said.

"Oh yeah. When I first met Ranger's family, Tank was with me. Everyone was a little cool towards me. Ernesto, Ranger's brother, was almost hostile. He called me a 'gold-digging whore' and a 'money hungry slut'."

Everyone sucked in their breaths.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I figured that he didn't really know me and that once he did he would be friendlier but he wasn't. When Ranger and I went to tell them that we set a date, he made a comment that I shouldn't worry about wearing white because I am not a virgin anymore. Then he told Ranger to get a paternity test. That Ricky could be Lester's or Bobby's kid. He said that he didn't think Tank could be the father."

"Holy shit! What did Batman do?" Lula asked.

"I think he was ready to kill him. But he stood up and threw his napkin down. Said we were leaving and then he told them they are all welcome to attend the wedding provided they can keep your comments to themselves. If they disapproved in anyway please do themselves and us a favor and stay home."

"Wow." Mary Lou said.

"So then what?" Connie asked.

"Ranger asked me if Ernesto had always been that way towards me. I told him that I didn't want to come between him and his family. But he said that I was his family now and he wanted to know what Ernesto had said."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Mary Lou asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"Then what happened?" Connie asked.

"Ernesto is still alive if that's what you want to know. We haven't seen him since. Like I said everyone else has been very helpful and supportive. But Ernesto. . ."

"That's too bad. There is always someone in the family that causes problems." Connie said.

"So do you think he'll come to the wedding? Do you think he will cause any problems?" Mary Lou asked.

"I don't know. If he does show up and he does cause any problems I am sure that Ranger will have him escorted out."

"So where is Ranger taking you on your honeymoon?" Mary Lou asked. "I hope it is someplace exotic and not to Point Pleasant where Dickie took you."

"He won't tell me." I said.

"Who's goin' to take care of the batbaby?" Lula asked. I think she was hoping I wasn't going to ask her.

"He'll spend one week with Ranger's parents and one week with mine."

"So is the baby going to be at the wedding?" Connie asked.

"Of course he is going to be there. I even ordered him a little black tux."

There was a chorus of awe's at the thought of that.

"So who are we going to be partnered with?" Mary Lou asked.

"Well, Tank and Lula, obviously because they are the best man and maid of honor. I thought that you could partner with Bobby. And Connie and Lester. I figured that Connie can keep Lester in line so he doesn't do something like chain a bowling ball to Ranger's ankle. Or fill the car with balloons and decorate it with shaving cream."

"Yeah I can handle him." Connie said.

"Hey Mare, do you remember Kelly Larsen?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"Well, she is back in Trenton. She is working at the hospital. I almost walked in on her and Joe doing the salsa in bed."

"Ohmigod! What did you do?"

"I waited until they were done. Junior and Binkie were outside his room and had to endure the noises coming from inside."

"Super Cop must be feelin' better." Lula said

"I asked if he got clearance from his doctor for that kind of activity."

"I heard that Ranger is being accused of setting the fires at the Morellis." Connie said.

"I talked to Mooch this morning and he said the same thing. I set him straight. I informed Ranger about the accusations and he was a little surprised. He said it wasn't his style. Mooch said that Ranger was trying to get rid of the competition. Ranger asked if he had any competition. I told him that he is stuck with me for the long haul."

"Well, it sounds like you be spending a lot of time at the hospital. I would question it too." Lula said.

"I care about Joe, but I love Ranger. There is a difference."

"Not to some people. They might see it as cheating. They may think you are having second thoughts." Connie said.

"Shit! Why don't people mind their own business?" I said.

"Maybe you should stay away from Joe." Mary Lou suggested.

"Well, when he gets discharged in a couple of days, he is going to a safe house that Ranger has his mom and grandma staying at. I don't know where it is."

"How long will they have to stay there?" Mary Lou asked.

"Until it is safe for them to come home." I informed her.

"I can't believe Super Cop is agreeing to that." Lula said.

"I convinced him to go." I said softly.

"He is doing it for you then. Not because he feels threatened." Mary Lou said.

"I guess you are right." I said.

"Damn straight. You know he still loves you." Connie said. "He'll never get over you. Oh he may see other women. Maybe even sleep with them. But he will always love you."

"Shit. Just when I think I am finally getting my life together. I found the man I am truly in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with. I never really felt this way when I married the Dickhead. And I never felt this way with Joe. But I guess Joe has felt this way about me. It's like that song 'Love Stinks'. The song goes: 'You love her, but she loves him. And he loves somebody else. You just can't win.' I least I know Ranger loves me back. At least I hope he does." I finished softly.

"He loves you. No question about it." Mary Lou said encouragingly.

"Batman is head of heels in love with you, white girl." Lula added.

"He wouldn't have gotten so upset about Joe being at the house the night you had to take Ricky to the hospital if he didn't." Mary Lou stated.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

We sat in our vehicles watching a warehouse on one the piers in Camden. It was hard to sit there for so long. I kept thinking about 'mommy and daddy playtime'. "Get a grip and concentrate on the job." I reprimanded myself. A car drove up. And Astiago and two other men got out. They went to one of the warehouses and opened the overhead door. Someone, who was left in the car, drove in. The overhead door closed.

We got out of our vehicles and surrounded the warehouse. Agent Nelson tried the small door. He shook his head. It was locked. We positioned ourselves around the warehouse and waited.

Another car drove slowly up to the warehouse. A man got out and walked up to the door and knocked. The door open and a quick conversation took place. The overhead door started to open. We signaled each other to get ready to move. Once the door was fully opened, the car started to drive through. Before it could fully enter the warehouse, we started to move inside.

One of the FBI agents forced the car to stop and removed the occupants. Then we handcuffed and dragged them outside. My guess is that they were plants used to set up an appointment with Astiago. We continued inside the warehouse looking for Astiago.

Gun fire erupted and we all dove for cover. Shots volleyed back and forth. Two of Astiago's men were hit. Astiago suddenly made an appearance from somewhere and tried to make a break through the opening. The car that was stopped earlier never got totally inside the warehouse and the overhead door could not be closed. We manage to apprehend the other man left inside. I went after Astiago.

Astiago pulled out a knife and he went for me. We struggled and he managed to get me in the arm. I felt the sting of the blade as it cut through my clothing and hit my skin. Damn, how the hell did I let something like that happen. As we fought some more, I got sliced again on my leg. He was finally subdued by Tank and Lester. Bobby came over to assess the damage.

"Shit, Ranger, you're going to need stitches." Bobby said as he looked at the wound on my leg.

"I should have stabbed you in the chest." Astiago spat out.

Feds started to comb the warehouse looking for drugs and other illegal substances. Agent Nelson came up. "Well, well, well. Looks like you are going to be going away for a while." He had in his hand a bag of white powder.

"That's not mine. I don't know where you got that. You are trying to set me up." Astiago spat out.

"We found it in your car." Agent Nelson said.

"That isn't my car. Someone picked me up in it and brought me here."

"Why?"

"I had business meeting."

"Who were you meeting?"

"I rather not say at this time."

"What kind of business do you have?"

"I have a legitimate business. I run a car restoration company. We restore and fix up old cars and customize new cars."

"Again, why were meeting here?"

"The gentleman I was meeting wanted to meet discreetly. I rent this warehouse and store car parts here."

We looked around and noticed that there were various car parts. There were chrome wheels and tires stacked. There were various bucket car seats and bench seats in leather. I didn't know what was in all the crates that were stacked around and I didn't want to know. The parts could be from stolen cars. They would all have to be tagged and looked into. That was the Feds' problem, not mine.

"Do you know a Trenton detective by the name of Morelli?" Agent Nelson asked.

"No, should I?"

"Do you know someone by the name of Carmela Santini?"

"Yeah, she's my woman." Astiago said.

"Your woman called Morelli a few weeks ago and said that she was his former girlfriend and she wanted him to come over to her house."

"She is a tramp."

"Nice. Does she know you think she is a tramp?"

"She knows how I feel about her."

"Right now, she is feeling dead."

Astiago wasn't happy with that information. "That detective kill her?" He said with a menacing voice.

"We don't know. Her body was found in a warehouse in Trenton."

Astiago started to become agitated.

"Did you find out about her meeting with the detective and have her killed?"

"Of course not. Why would I do that? As I said she was my woman."

"Did you do it in a fit of rage and then go after the detective because you thought they were screwing around?"

"Wasn't me."

"Someone tried to kill Detective Morelli. He is currently in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was lucky. He'll live." Agent Nelson said. "Here is what we think happened. You had Carmela call Detective Morelli and set up a rendezvous. You had her say she was Morelli's former girlfriend knowing he would show up. He shows up at the house. Now here is where it gets interesting. No one was supposed to be home. It was a ruse to get him there. So then what was supposed to happen? Were you going to ambush the detective? He would have been trapped. The gate to the house was closed. If someone would have driven up behind him, he would have no way to escape."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Well, someone _was _home and opened the gate and Morelli was let inside. So that plan didn't work. So you got mad at your woman and took out your aggressions out on her and killed her."

"I had nothing to do with that. I didn't kill her."

"You still needed to get rid of Morelli. He had information on you that he passed to us and you needed him out of the picture. So you followed him to a restaurant and waited until he came out and started shooting at him."

"I said it wasn't me."

"Why don't you tell us more about your business meeting here today? What did this gentleman want or were you meeting with the hitman you hired?"

"I said it was a business meeting. I didn't hire a hitman. I did kill anybody or try to kill anybody."

"We heard from an informant that you are dealing with illegal drugs and stolen cars."

Agents had started to open up different crates.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" Astiago yelled.

"We have a warrant to search this warehouse for drugs. And when we find them we will have you arrested and bring charges against you for smuggling drugs out of state and across the border into Canada."

"That's insane. Where did you come up with that? I run a legitimate business. You have no right to do this."

"Do you know a Billy Jensen?" A look came across Astiago's face.

Suddenly, Astiago lurched forward and grab a gun that was on the ground hidden by a crate. Everyone pulled out their guns and aimed at him.

Agent Nelson yelled. "Put down the weapon!"

Astiago raised the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He fell to the ground. He was dead.

Everyone stared in disbelief. We couldn't believe what had just happened. Of course Astiago would have been dead either way. He could have died from any number of bullets that would have been fired at him.

Agent Nelson put his gun away and came over to me. "Well. We didn't get the answers that we needed. Go to hospital and get check out. My men and I will clean up the mess here."

"I don't think this is over yet. There has to be more." I said.

"I agree. But until we get more info we will just have to wait. Thanks for all your help. I'll be in touch."

Tank, Lester, Bobby and I went to our respective vehicles. I called the control room and briefly told them what happened. I told them that they are not to say anything to Steph about what went down. I told them to just tell her that they hadn't heard anything.

_______________

**Steph's POV**

We talked into the night. I had fed Ricky and put him to bed and we were still talking and catching up with each other. Before we knew it, it was midnight. I grabbed the baby monitor and keys and walked the girls down to the garage. We hugged each other and said good night. I promised I wouldn't be a stranger and would see them soon.

I went back up stopping on the 5th floor to check on things. Manny and Zero were on the monitors. I asked if they heard anything and they both said no. Somehow I didn't quite believe them. I went back up to the apartment and got ready for bed.

I couldn't sleep so I watched some TV for a while. It was around 2:00 a.m. when I finally went to bed and fell asleep.

I felt a pair of strong arms pulling me against and warm hard chest. "Carlos?"

"Sshhh, Babe. Go back to sleep" He whispered. I snuggled up against him.

"Did you get him?" I asked sleepily.

"Yeah. We can talk in the morning. Or should I say later today." He whispered back.

I reached my arm over his chest and I felt a bandage. I immediately woke up and sat up reaching over to turn on the lamp. I looked over to him and saw the huge bandage that was wrapped around his arm and another bandage wrapped around his leg.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It's nothing. Let's go to sleep. We can talk about it later." He said.

"No, we will talk about it now." I said sternly.

"O.K. O.K." He conceded. "I got sliced by a knife."

I sucked in my breath. I had a feeling that something had happened. I think Zero and Manny knew but were told not to say anything.

"By who?" I asked.

"Astiago."

"Is he still alive?"

"No."

"Did you kill him?"

"No." He said. "It was self inflicted. Once he knew he wasn't going to get away."

"So you went to the hospital?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"And you didn't feel the need to call and tell me?"

"Babe, I didn't want you to worry. You've had enough on your plate lately. I didn't need to add to it."

"So you could have been killed and you felt I didn't need to know because I have been on an emotional roller coaster these last few weeks." I said in disbelief.

"Babe."

"Don't you dare 'Babe' me! We are supposed to be getting married in a couple of months and you still feel the need to keep things from me." I said.

"Babe you are getting upset. Let's just go to sleep."

"My fiancé, the man I love more than anything in the world other than my son, gets stabbed and I am not supposed to get upset?" Tears started to slide down my face. A combination of anger and concern. "My God I could have lost you tonight. When would I have found out about it if that had happened?"

"Tank would have called you."

"Why couldn't you have called me?"

"There wasn't anything you could have done."

"That may be true, but at least I could have prepared myself. I had a feeling that something was wrong. You didn't check in. The guys downstairs wouldn't tell me anything. I knew they were lying. I had Lula, Connie and Mary Lou here most of the night. I didn't want them to leave because I didn't want to be left alone. I tried to stay awake until you came home. I started to think that you weren't . . . c-coming . . . b-back."

I started to sob. Ranger pulled me to him and I hugged him like I was never going to let him go. I think I was hurting him but he didn't say anything. He rubbed my back and said soothing things in my ear. Finally after fifteen minutes of gut wrenching sobs, I started to quiet down.

"I am sorry, Babe. I should have called you to let you know what was happening. I didn't want you to worry. But I guess not knowing anything is worse. Your imagination starts to take off."

We laid back down in the bed. Ranger reached over and turned the light out.

"I love you, Babe."

"I love you, Carlos."

We just held each other until we both fell asleep.

**TBC** **Chapter 19 - More Wedding and Birthday Plans**


	19. Chapter 19

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 19  
****More Wedding and Birthday Plans**

Ranger and I slept late the next morning. Well, as late as Ricky would let us. After a quick shower, we were seated at the breakfast bar to eat breakfast. I asked Ranger about some of the wedding stuff I discussed with the girls yesterday.

"Have you located a reliable photographer yet?" I asked.

"I've narrowed it down to three. I thought I could set up some appointments for us to meet with them. All three handle both the portrait photography and video recording."

"Great." I said. "What about the rehearsal dinner?"

"I mentioned it to Mama and she said not to worry. She would take care of it."

"I picked out a couple of invitation designs for you to look at. And I wrote down the wording that I think fits us. What do you think?" I slid the paper over to him as I gave some banana to Ricky. Ranger read it over. He reached for a pen and made a couple of changes. He slid it back to me. I smiled at what he added.

"Have you thought of any songs you would like during the ceremony or for our first dance?"

"No, I haven't. Have you any suggestions?"

"No. I guess we need to start listening to some songs. That hasn't been used over and over again. Something that is us."

"That is a big order to fill. Seeing our tastes in music aren't quite the same."

"I know. Are we going to have a DJ or live band?"

"I think a DJ would be best. They have more access to a variety of different music. We can have some salsa to dance to. Or some nice slow songs. Even some songs our parents would like."

"O.K. where do we start with a DJ? Are you going to run background checks on them too?"

"I suppose I should. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen on our wedding day." He leaned over to me and kissed me. "Am I forgiven for yesterday?"

"Yes. But you have to let me know what is going on. I am going to worry whether you are safe or not. It's part of loving you. You have to take the bad with the good."

"I know that now. I am sorry I put you through all of that. Did you worry when I was away on missions?"

"Of course I did. But we weren't together for a majority of them. But I was still worried. I would ask the guys if they heard anything when I would see them. Of course they didn't know anything. Or at least they didn't tell me. But I worried. I was very worried this last mission you were on. Especially when I found out I was pregnant. All I could think about was the fact you didn't know about our child and that you may never know if something happened to you. It caused my stress level to go up and that caused me to have some problems with the pregnancy."

"You didn't tell me you had problems with the pregnancy."

"The last trimester my blood pressure was on the high side. I almost think that being at the house alone most of the time was worse. Rex had died. Both of my confidants and best friends were gone. I had only my thoughts to keep me company. I think that had I stayed at RangeMan and had more people around to distract me, I wouldn't have been so stressed or lonely. I did talk to the baby a lot."

"You never told me what happened to Rex. I assumed he died." He said quietly.

Ranger kissed me again.

"So are we going to be moving back to the house now?"

"I had a whole new security system installed. Hopefully no one will be able to breach it." Ranger said.

"I am sure Miranda has been wondering if she still has a job. We haven't been home in almost a month."

"I've been paying her even though we haven't been there. She has been keeping an eye on things for us."

"Well, maybe you should call her and let her know we are coming home, so she can take the dust covers off the furniture."

"Are you going to see Morelli today?"

"I wasn't planning on it. I was going to go tomorrow to see if he gets discharged and make sure he went to the safe house. I guess he doesn't have to go now. And his mother and grandma can come home now."

"I don't think his house is livable yet. From what I hear the floor in the living room needs to be replaced. It isn't safe to walk on it."

"He can go and live with his mother and grandma or go live with his brother or his cousin Mooch."

"You aren't going to offer him a place to stay?"

"Why would I offer him a place to stay? Are you going to accuse me again of sleeping with him?" I started to get angry.

"You spent a lot of time with him in the hospital. You are obviously concerned about him. I just thought that you would want to take care of him when he got out of the hospital."

"Yes, I am concerned about him. Carlos, he will always have a place in my heart. I've known him practically my whole life. But I am not going to take care of him. He has family to take care of him. I'm going to be too busy anyway taking care of you. You are my main concern. You and Ricky. Do I hear a little jealousy coming from Batman?" I teased.

"I guess still I get a little apprehensive when it comes to Morelli. You have a history of going back and forth with him. I am still afraid that one day you will go back to him."

"Not a chance. I only kept going back to him, because you kept giving me a song and dance that your life didn't lend itself to relationships and your love comes with a condom and not a ring. What was I supposed to do? Pine away for eternity for the man that I love more than anything, but who didn't want a relationship with me? At least if I settled for Joe, I wouldn't spend the rest of my life alone."

"Babe."

"And that is what I would have done. I would have settled for Joe. But, I am in love with you. And I want to spend the rest of my life and through eternity with you."

We kissed again. Ricky was getting bored and threw his bowl of Cheerios on the floor. We pulled apart and I sighed. "I guess it is back to reality." I said. "Come on Ricky. Bath time."

I lifted Ricky from his highchair. "Oh my God! I almost forgot. We need to get a new car seat."

"I took care of it, Babe. I got three of them. One for your vehicle. One for my vehicle. And one to keep on hand in case one of the men need to get him or take him somewhere when we aren't available. It is the best car seat on the market."

"Thank you. I suppose we will have to go see our parents soon. Your parents haven't seen Ricky since he was in the hospital. And mine haven't seen him since the shooting." I said.

"You also need to work with me working with potential clients and such. We sort of put that on hold."

"Yeah, I guess we did."

"I'll set up the appointments. Is that O.K. with you? You will need to dress in business attire. Your uniform will work for the onsite inspections, but for meeting the clients and discussing what they want and what we can provide, you will have to dress the role of a successful business associate."

"I think I will need to go shopping then."

"I still need to go to Boston and finish checking on things there. And then I need to go to the Atlanta and Miami offices. I thought I would do Miami last, right before the wedding and bring Julie back with me."

"That sounds good, but I won't be able to go to Miami with you. I will have too much to do here right before the wedding, especially now that you are leaving all the last minute details to me."

He was all dressed and ready for work. I was running the water for Ricky's bath. Ranger took Ricky from me. He was bouncing him and lifting him up in the air.

"You still want to go to Boston with me?" He asked. Ricky was laughing and shrieking.

"Yeah. I do. That is, if you still want me to go with you." I said hesitantly. I was picking out an outfit for Ricky to wear.

"Yeah, Babe. I want you to come with me."

"O.K. let me know when." He handed Ricky back to me.

"I gotta go. Stop in my office before you head out to wherever you plan on going today. I am sure you are headed to the mall or something seeing it has been a while since you stepped foot inside one. You are probably going through withdrawals."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I wouldn't do that unless you plan on using it." He said to me and he grabbed me and gave me a kiss. Our tongues battling for control.

Ricky let out a shriek. I guess I must have squeezed him too tight. Ranger let go of me and stepped back. "See you later, Babe." He gave Ricky a kiss on the head and then he left.

I turned and went into the bathroom to give Ricky his bath.

_______________

Ricky and I stopped at the bonds office on our way to the mall. Lula and Connie had donuts.

"Hey there." Connie said. "Long time no see. Did Ranger get home O.K?"

"Yes and no." I said as I took a plain donut and broke off a piece and gave it to Ricky.

"What do you mean?" Lula asked.

"Yes, Ranger made it home. And no, he wasn't O.K."

"Huh?" Lula asked.

"He got sliced with a knife. On his arm and on his leg. He didn't want anyone to tell me for fear of getting me upset. But that only upset me more."

"Was anyone else hurt?" Connie asked.

"Other than Astiago, no."

"What happened to him?"

"He is dead. Self inflicted gunshot to the head."

Lula and Connie looked at each other.

"Look. I don't care who did it. He is gone and won't be a threat to anyone anymore." I stated. "I didn't ask for details. I don't want to know."

I popped the rest of the donut in my mouth. And stood up. "I am heading to the mall. I need to find shoes for the wedding and some other things. Anyone care to join us?"

Lula stood up and brushed powered sugar off her top. She was in orange today. "I need some things too. Connie?"

"I can't. I took off early yesterday to see Steph. Vinnie will have my head if I leave him to handle the phone calls. Oh, Steph as long as you are here, there are some files for RangeMan. Can you take these back with you?"

"Sure." I took the files and picked up Ricky from the couch and headed out the door. Lula grabbed her purse out of the file cabinet and followed. "See you later, Connie. And thanks for the donuts."

We got to the mall. I took the stroller from in back of the SUV and strapped Ricky into it.

"Boy there sure is a lot of stuff you need to have on hand when you have a kid." Lula said. "You need an SUV just to get everything to fit. You need a car seat. A stroller. Diaper bag."

"What is your point? Not worth the hassle? I don't know what my life would be like if I didn't have Ricky. I don't even know if Carlos and I would still be together."

"Oh, I think you would still be together. Getting married? That, I wouldn't be so sure of. I think that eventually you two probably would get married, but I think Ricky just moved it up a bit." Lula quickly added. She didn't want me to think that Ranger was just marrying me because of Ricky.

"Lula, are you saying that Carlos is only marrying me because of Ricky?" I asked.

"I think that he really loves you. And I think that you two would eventually get married. I just think that it is sooner rather than later because of Batbaby there."

I thought about that for a while. We entered Macy's. First we went to the shoe department. I found the shoes I wanted for the wedding. They were white satin. The heel was only two inches as opposed to the three to four inch heels I usually wore. I figured that I would be on my feet most of the day and didn't want my feet to hurt too much. I found black satin bows with rhinestone centers to attach to the shoes. I thought it would add to the black and white of the dress. Lula found the same shoe but in black satin and picked white satin bows. We quickly called Mary Lou and Connie and told them what we found. We asked if they thought that would be all right to wear for the wedding. We got their shoe size and asked the sales clerk to hold the shoes for them.

We then headed for the baby department to see if there were any good sales. I found a few outfits for Ricky that were half off. They weren't black either. I found an activity toy that attaches to the crib. I thought that if Ricky woke up he could entertain himself until I got up. I was hoping that I could sleep later or Ranger and I would have more time to ourselves. If you get my meaning.

Then we headed for the Misses' department. Seeing that I didn't know where Ranger was taking us for our honeymoon, I didn't know what to pack. I decided to call him to get some ideas.

"Yo, Babe" He answered.

"Yo, yourself" I smiled. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Where you are planning on taking us for the honeymoon is it going to be warm?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I have no idea what to pack for it. I am shopping and I found some outfits that I would like but I don't know if they would fit where we are going."

"Babe, why don't you just buy what you want. If they don't work for where we are going you can take them back or just keep them."

"But it is still several months away. I don't know if I can return them at that time." I was really trying to get him to tell me.

"O.K. Bring them home and I will tell you if they will work or not."

"Fine." I hung up.

"He won't tell you, will he?" Lula asked.

"No."

I picked out what I liked, they were on sale. Found some nice business attire. A couple of black suits. Some black slacks and black blouses and a couple of skirts. A black dress that wasn't sexy or revealing.

Then we headed over to Victoria's Secret. There were scoured the clearance racks for good deals. Then we moved over to the other stuff. I found sexy baby doll lingerie in purple and one in red for the honeymoon. Why, I don't know. It won't stay on long enough. I found a lacy baby doll for the wedding night. I picked up an adhesive demi bra to wear with my wedding dress and some nice second skin satin panties.

Lula picked out some things for herself and for Tank. We were done at Vicky's.

We then headed over to the jewelry store. I was trying to find something for Ranger for a wedding present. We had already picked out our wedding rings. I looked at different things. He really didn't wear much jewelry. He had the diamond stud earrings that he hadn't worn in a while. He also had a few gold chains that he wore on occasion. I decided on cuff links, tie clip and a money clip. They were platinum with black diamonds. The money clip I had engraved with his initials. Then I remembered his birthday was coming up too. I found a key chain that was a locket. I had 'Dad' engraved on the front and I decided to have 'Love, Julie and Ricky' engraved in the back. I would put in pictures of Julie and Ricky inside. I chose titanium cuff links and a tie clip with diamonds. The black of the titanium set off the diamonds nicely.

Then I remembered that if it was Ranger's birthday, then it was Ricky's birthday too. I needed to start planning his birthday party. I was starting to panic a little with everything starting to come all at once.

It was time for lunch. We ate at the mall. Then it was time to go home. Ricky was napping in the stroller. I was hoping he wouldn't wake up when I transferred him to the car seat.

He woke up a little and whined, but fell back to sleep as I drove home. I dropped Lula off at the bonds office with her packages. I called Ranger to see if he was available to help me carry some of my purchases. The cuff links were in my purse. The money clip was being engraved, as was the key chain.

"Yo, Babe." He said.

"Yo, yourself. I'm on my way home. Are we going to be staying there tonight or are we going to stay at the house tonight?"

"I already told Miranda that we were going to be back at the house. Why?"

"Well I have a couple of packages here and I just wanted to know if I needed to lug it upstairs or not. If I did, I needed to get someone to assist me. Otherwise I will just leave it all in the car until later when we get home."

"Leave it in the car, Babe. I can help you with it later. Did you get anything good?"

"You will just have to wait and see." I said with a smile. "I'm pulling in the garage now. See you in a little bit." I hung up and got out of the SUV. I unstrapped Ricky. He woke up immediately and looked around to see where he was. He had a case of bed head and I tried to smooth down the curls.

Ranger met us at the elevator when we got off. He took Ricky from me and then gave me a kiss.

"Did you buy out the store?"

"I tried. I need to start planning Ricky's first birthday party. I can't believe he is going to be one in a few weeks."

"Babe, he's a baby. He won't remember."

"There will be pictures. I need to come up with a theme. I was thinking Batman."

"Babe."

"I don't want clowns, or teddy bears or trucks."

"Again, he is a baby. Who are you going to invite?"

"Our families, the Merry Men, Lula, Connie, Mary Lou and her family. Maybe Joe."

Ranger cringed at that name but he didn't say anything.

"I set up a couple appointments for you to sit in on for tomorrow. One is a jeweler. It looks simple enough. The other is with your ex-husband."

Now I cringed at the thought of seeing Dickie.

"Great."

**TBC Chapter 20 - Meetings**


	20. Chapter 20

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 20  
****Meetings**

The next morning, Ranger and I were able to have a quick romp in the bedroom before Ricky woke up. I heard a noise coming from the baby monitor. It took me a while to figure out that Ricky was playing with the activity toy. I smiled and turned my attention back to Ranger. Last night we were able to make love a few times. It was nice because Ricky wasn't in the same room as us, now that we were back home.

I got Ricky his breakfast while Ranger took his shower. When Ranger came down for breakfast I left Ricky in his care while I showered and tried to tame my hair. I chose one of the new suits that I bought with a black silk shell underneath. I kept the jewelry to a minimum. I didn't want the jeweler, that we were meeting today, to think Ranger was rolling in the dough and was able to buy expensive things, but then we still wanted to look successful. I chose a gold chain and gold hoop earrings. I wore black stockings and black pumps. I decided that I would change my jewelry when we met with Dickie. I really didn't care what he thought. I wanted him to know that I chose someone who was better and more successful than he was.

Ranger looked absolutely delicious in his tailor-made Armani suit. It was black on black pinstripe. He had on a black silk shirt and a black on black striped tie. I wished I could give him his birthday present early. The titanium tie clip and cuff links would look fantastic with his suit. I had to use all my will power not to run upstairs to get them.

We got to RangeMan. I called Ella to see if she could watch Ricky while Ranger and I were in the meetings. She said that it wouldn't be a problem. I did a few searches until

Ranger stopped by my cubicle to inform me that it was time for the first meeting. I picked Ricky up from the portable crib/playpen that was in my cubicle and took the elevator up to the 6th floor. Ella took Ricky. Ranger rode up with us and as he and I were headed down to the 2nd floor to the conference room he told me what he wanted me to do.

"Babe, I want you to stay alert. Focus on body language. Does he fidget like he is nervous about something? Is he hiding anything? Don't be afraid to ask a question or two. Let your spidey-sense be your guide. I'll be right there so you don't have to worry that something will happen to you."

"O.K. Are you sure you want me there?"

"Yes. I want to hear what your thoughts are and if you get the same feelings I do. I want to hone your perception skills. It will also help when you start doing apprehensions again."

Lester was standing outside the door. He nodded to us to let us know the client was inside. We entered the room and Mr. Herman was seated at the table. He was a small man. I wasn't sure of his nationality. I thought possibly Eastern European.

"Mr. Herman. Carlos Manoso. And this is Stephanie Plum." Ranger said as he shook Mr. Herman's hand.

Mr. Herman stood up and held out his hand. "Mr. Manoso. It is good to meet you. Ms. Plum. You are a very beautiful woman." He said. "A beautiful woman needs beautiful jewelry."

"Thank you." I said a little self consciously.

"You must stop by my store. I show you some very beautiful pieces of jewelry. I will even give you a good deal."

"Mr. Herman owns a wholesale jewelry store near the Capitol building. He is concerned about crime in the area." Ranger explained. "So what are you looking for RangeMan to do for you?"

"Well, I want a very good security alarm system." Mr. Herman said.

"Do you want 24 hour surveillance of the property?"

"No, I don't think that will be necessary. Just an alarm system."

"If you are concerned with crime in the area, why don't you want 24 hour surveillance?"

Ranger asked. "We can monitor the area inside and out. The minute we see anything that looks suspicious we can call in the authorities or we can be there within minutes to check things out."

"I don't think that the crime is that bad." He said.

"Then why hire RangeMan? You can get an alarm system anywhere?" I asked. Ranger looked over at me.

"I hear that RangeMan is the best for security." Mr. Herman said.

"It is the best. But that is because of the service we provide not just the state of the art alarm systems." I said.

Mr. Herman nodded. He started to fidget in his seat.

"Mr. Herman I get the feeling that you don't want 24 hour surveillance because you don't want our people to be watching you. Are you trying to hide something?" I continued.

"No, no. Nothing like that. And why are you, the secretary, asking me questions?" He fidgeted some more. He looked to Ranger for an answer.

"She is not my secretary. She happens to be an associate which means she helps me with the clients. She doesn't fetch coffee or type up letters for me."

"I think you are planning something. I think you are planning on robbing your own store." Ranger looked at me. I continued on. "Either you directly or someone that works for you. If there are cameras set up then we would see who it is. And you don't want that."

He didn't say anything but beads of sweat started to form on his forehead.

"Mr. Herman. I believe that you or an accomplice is planning to con your insurance company for the stolen goods. I also think that you are going to blame RangeMan and demand restitution from us for not being able to protect your store. Am I correct?"

"I am sorry to have bothered you. I don't need your services after all." Mr. Herman stood and turned to leave.

"Mr. Herman. Was this your plan for hiring RangeMan?" Ranger asked.

Mr. Herman looked down at the ground. "Yes. You are a very successful company. My store is in the red. I need the money that the insurance would have brought in. And then the money I would have gotten from you for not doing your job would have put me ahead."

"Mr. Herman. Are you being blackmailed?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Are you sure? We can provide protection if that is the case. I would hate for something to happen to you. You seem like a nice man." I continued.

"Yes, I am sure I am not being blackmailed. And thank you for your kind words. The only protection I need is for my store to make money. No one buys jewelry."

"Maybe you need to relocate. Find somewhere with more of a profile and less crime." I said.

"Yes, maybe I should do that."

"Where did you get the idea to steal from yourself to get the insurance money?" Ranger asked.

"A friend. He also has a business not doing well. He sells furs. Not many people buy furs anymore. Everyone protests the killing of animals for their fur. He stole some coats. Made it look like a robbery. Filed a claim with the insurance company. Insurance company said they would pay but he needed to get better security."

"Mr. Herman, I am sorry that your business is not doing well, but I suggest you leave now. I will not disclose what has transpired here as we pride ourselves with client confidentiality. But know this. I don't ever want you to step a foot in this building again asking for our services." Ranger said.

"Yes. Thank you. I will go now." Mr. Herman scurried out of the conference room. Lester was outside the door to escort him out.

"Babe. You did well. I'm proud of you. How did you pick up on the fact that he was planning on robbing his own store?"

"Well I thought either he was planning on robbing the store or he knew someone was going to do it, like he had inside information or is being blackmailed to let it happen or he is dealing with illegal or stolen goods."

"I was thinking the stolen goods was what he was trying to hide." He kissed her. "This is why I want you in on these meetings. You picked up on that there was something he was hiding right away."

"So when do we meet with the horse's ass?"

Ranger smiled. "This afternoon. I have another client coming in about an hour. Do you want to sit in on that one too?"

"Of course. If I am going to do this, I better sit in all of them. Let me call Ella and let her know. I don't want her to be tied down because she is watching Ricky for us."

I dialed Ella. I told her about the meetings. She said it wouldn't be a problem. She was just doing laundry today. Ricky was playing nicely. She read him a book earlier. She was going to feed him lunch in a little bit too. I thanked her and hung up. I told Ranger what was happening. He gave me a look.

"Babe, we can sneak up to the apartment for our lunch break, unless you are hungry for real food."

"I think I can sustain myself." I said. "I can always grab something afterwards."

________________

A little while later, Ranger stopped at my cubicle. "Babe, Morelli is here. He wants to get an update on what went down in Camden. Do you want to sit in on the meeting?"

I was in shock. Was I being asked to join them in a meeting? I was actually going to be privy to information. "Yeah, I would like that." I said.

Ranger led me to one of the other conference rooms. Joe was seated at the table. He still looked tired. Tank and Bobby were there as well.

"Hi Joe." I said. I went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's good to see you out of that hospital bed. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, sore. I'm going to be staying with my mom and Grandma Bella until my house is fixed up."

"Have you seen it yet?" I asked.

"Yeah. It could have been worse."

"So what do you want to know about Astiago?" Ranger asked.

"All of it. Why was I targeted?" Joe asked.

"We don't know exactly. From what we gathered, one of your informants, Billy Jensen, owed Astiago money for drugs. As payment Astiago asked him for information. Jensen found out from another informant about your dealings with the Feds. He gave that information to Astiago. We think Astiago wanted to get rid of you. We don't know for sure. But we think that Jensen was killed too. We haven't been able to find him."

"How did you find all this out if you haven't found Jensen?"

"One of my informants."

"So what happened to Astiago?"

"We found out he was hiding out in a house in Camden. We staked out the house and watched him. We followed him to a warehouse near the docks. He was there to meet someone. He and three of his men started to shoot at us. We were able to take his men. They are in custody. Astiago refused to surrender. So we went after him. I got into a scuffle with him he pulled out a knife. I got slashed a couple of times." Ranger looked over at me. I just looked at him. He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Agent Nelson started to question him. He didn't know about Carmela Santini. He asked if you did it. He denied shooting you. When Nelson mentioned Billy Jensen, something registered in Astiago's face. Before we could stop him, he grabbed one of his men's guns that was on the ground. He put it to his head and pulled the trigger. You can probably get some more information from the Feds."

Joe let out his breath. "Well that is just great. All our work trying to find out who his contacts were is down the drain. We don't know who he was working with and if he told them about my involvement. I guess the Feds will have to figure out something else. Well, thank you Ranger for your help. And I mean that." Joe said standing up. "It isn't over. Not by a long shot."

"Are we still going to be in danger?" I asked.

"I don't know. We will have to be cautious. But I don't think we will need to be on lock down." Ranger answered.

"Cupcake, uh Stephanie. I want to thank you for visiting me at the hospital. I wish you all the happiness in the world. Ranger, thank you for the guards. I know we don't always see things eye to eye. And I know you probably did it for Steph than for me. But thank you. Take care of her. Don't hurt her. If you do, I'll come after you."

"I won't hurt her." Ranger said.

"Joe, why the sudden change of heart?" I asked.

"I had a lot of time to think as I laid there in that hospital bed. I realized I was being an ass. I was wrong to expect you to change and become someone you're not. I wished I would have come to realization sooner. The thing is I fell in love with you just the way you are. Why I wanted you to change into someone you're not, I don't know."

"Joe."

"I know. I am going to say this in front of your fiancé and his men. I still love you, Cupcake. And if things don't work out with you and Ranger you know where to find me. Good luck to both of you. Send me an invitation to the wedding. I promise to be on my best behavior. I mean it. The best man won. Take care of her and Ricky. Good-bye, Cupcake."

Joe stood up and left the room. I had tears streaming down my face. "Good-bye, Joe." I said even though he was already gone. Ranger put his arm around me and hugged me. To finally have Joe let me go was sad. That part of my life has ended. My life with Ranger was just beginning and it was exciting and scary at the same time, and I was looking forward to it.

________________

A half hour later we went to meet our next potential client. Ranger made the introductions.

"Mr. Lee. Carlos Manoso. This is Stephanie Plum. Please have a seat."

Mr. Lee sat after shaking our hands.

"How can we help you?" Ranger asked.

"I own Lee's Sporting Goods, Camping and Hunting Supply. I carry a lot of weapons from hunting knives and guns to baseball bats and hockey sticks. Gangs have started to use my store to get their hands on anything they can use as a weapon, such as baseball bats and hockey sticks. They also buy knives. They have also managed to obtain some guns. Unfortunately, some of those guns have been used for various crimes. I am very good in obtaining the proper identification and doing background checks but they are only so good. I would like to use RangeMan for providing surveillance inside and out and I was hoping that you can help me to make sure that the guns and ammo are secure."

"We would be happy to come to your store and check it out to see where there might be potential problems and make the appropriate recommendations." Ranger said.

"What about your employees? Are they trustworthy?" I asked.

"I had them sign contracts that make them liable if they are caught selling any guns to felons. I also try and have background checks done on them. But like the background checks for gun ownership it is not fool proof." Mr. Lee said.

"What about having RangeMan do background checks on your employees as well as your customers." I said.

"How many employees do you have?" Ranger asked.

"I have six full time employees. And a dozen or so part time. I also hire some summer help. They help with getting kids set up for baseball and football. Helping to fit the kids for spikes and helmets. And helping put bicycles together." Mr. Lee said.

"Well, if RangeMan can do the background checks on your employees. Provided they are not minors. With hiring kids in the summer, you would have to have a parent's authorization for the background check. The only problem is if they have any criminal record it would be sealed. But I think we can get some info." I said.

"Can you do that? I mean do background checks?"

"We have access to many different databases. We also do fugitive apprehensions so we need to find information on those individuals so we can locate them and take them back to jail." Ranger explained.

"When can you come out to the store and check it out?" Mr. Lee asked anxiously.

"We can be out there tomorrow morning if that works for you. I can then work up a proposal with the estimate of the cost."

"That sounds good. Is 10:00 a.m. too early?" Mr. Lee asked.

"No, that sounds good." Ranger said.

We stood up and shook hands. We escorted Mr. Lee to the elevator. Woody was there to escort Mr. Lee to the first floor.

"Babe." Ranger said when he turned to me. "I never thought of running background checks on employees as part of the service we can provide to clients for their businesses." He kissed me. "I know I do it, but that is because of the type of business I run, but I never thought about it for the regular client. I know now that I made the right choice when I decided to include you in more of the business side of things. You are definitely more than a pretty face. You have brains too."

He kissed me again. "I think it is time for lunch, don't you?"

"Mmm. I think so too." I said. "When do we have to meet with Dickie?"

"Not until 2:00 p.m." He said as he worked our way into the elevator when it returned to the second floor.

We entered the apartment and worked our way into the bedroom. We tried to remove our clothes and lay them down so they wouldn't get wrinkled. I didn't want to look like I just had sex when I saw Dickie later.

________________

Ranger and I were lying in each other's arms after our 'lunch'. Just savoring the time together and the peace and quiet.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Sure, Babe. What's on your mind?" Ranger answered as his hand ran up and down my back as he held me.

I didn't answer.

"Something is bothering you. What's wrong?"

I sighed. "I know this is going to sound stupid. That I am acting childish. But I really want to rub it in Dickhead's face that I am doing so much better without him. That I found someone who is better and more successful than he is."

"Babe." Ranger chuckled.

"I can't help it. After what he did to me."

"Babe."

"It still hurts. Wasn't I good enough in bed that he needed to find it elsewhere?"

"I think you are Wonder Woman in bed. I can't get enough of you." He gave me a kiss.

"Thanks. I wasn't looking for a compliment. But it is still nice to know that I can keep you satisfied."

"Babe, I doubt it had anything to do with you, in or out of the bedroom. Some men just can't keep _it_ in their pants. They have to have _it_ in someone else. And it doesn't matter who or what that someone is. Be glad you ended it when you did. Who knows what ugly diseases he could have given you."

"Yeah, you are probably right." I said.

"And if it makes you feel better, I will refer to you as my fiancée."

"Oh boy."

We were quiet for a while. Ranger still had me wrapped in his arms. My head was on his chest. I listened to his heart beat as my thoughts raced in my head.

"Babe, I smell something burning. What is bothering you now?"

"Just my insecurities. Whenever I am confronted with my past, all my failures make themselves known again. Each and every one of them. I start to feel inadequate. And I start to wonder what you see in me. Why you want to spend the rest of your life with me when no one else, other than Joe, wanted to? And I wonder how long _that_ would have lasted. Face it my life is a disaster."

"Babe."

"I know, but I can't help myself. When you have been told over and over that you are a disappointment and failure your whole life, it's hard to grasp that someone actually thinks you are worthy."

I sat up and placed my hands on Ranger's cheeks. I had tears running down my face as my emotions spilled out.

"You are one of only a few people who truly believes in me as I am. My father, Grandma and Mary Lou being the others. You've seen me with all my faults and failures and you still are willing to spend the rest of your life with me. Well, at least I hope so. But know this, Carlos, I love you with all my heart and I don't know if I could survive without you."

"Babe." He said as he gathered me in his arms. "I love _you_ with all my heart. You _are_ the most important person in my life. I don't think _I_ could survive without you. And you are not a disappointment or a failure to me. You have to believe that."

"I want to believe it. But it's hard." I said.

"You don't have to go with me to see Dickie, if it is causing you so much pain. I can handle things on my own."

"You don't want me there?" I asked surprised at this latest development.

Ranger sighed. "It isn't because I don't want you there. Because I do. But for some reason the thought of seeing Dickie again has brought up all these unpleasant memories."

"But I want to see him. I want to rub it in his face. I want to show him that I am not a failure anymore."

Ranger took my face in his hands. "Babe, you are beautiful and smart and funny and sexy as all get out. You are a wonderful mother and a wonderful wife."

"Hey I'm not your wife yet." I said indignantly. "And the jury is still out on the wonderful mother."

"A minor technicality." He said and then continued with his litany. "You are a wonderful wife. You are my Wonder Woman inside and outside of the bedroom. And I am madly in love with you. And I think you are a wonderful mother."

"Yeah, I'm so wonderful. That is why someone else is watching our son right now."

"Babe. You said that we needed to find time for just the two of us. And that is what we are doing. It doesn't make you a bad mother to have someone watch your child every once in a while. Look. You stayed with him at the hospital. You look after him when you are working. He didn't leave the building since the shooting until yesterday. You were protecting him. That is what a good mother does."

"Thank you. I love you so much. You give me the strength and confidence I need."

"Come on, Babe. We need to get up and get ready to show the Dickhead that you are a successful business woman. With a very successful husband to be." He pulled me up and out of the bed. We headed to the bathroom and got in the shower. We fooled around a little in the shower. He kept telling me how much he loved me and that I was Wonder Woman. I know he was trying to build up my confidence. And I loved him for it.

**TBC Chapter 21 - Dickie's House **


	21. Chapter 21

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 21  
****Dickie's House**

We got out of the Turbo at Dickie's house. We walked to the door holding hands. Ranger squeezed my hand as he rang the doorbell. Dickie answered the door. He took one look at me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked.

"I am here to inspect your house for your new security system. Here is my I.D. You know Ranger, CEO of RangeMan."

"What? Get the hell out of here!"

"Excuse me. Stephanie works for RangeMan. You asked for someone to come out to your home to inspect it for a new security system. She is here to scout out your domicile to see where there may be potential security breaches that will have to be taken care of." Ranger said.

"Well, I may have hired RangeMan, but I didn't know that she was working there. She was never supposed to step a foot in this house after the divorce."

"Trust me, Dickie. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary. This place is filled with bad memories. So, just let us do our job so I can get the hell out of here." I pushed past him and entered the house.

I looked around. Not much had changed in the years since the divorce. Same decor. Maybe a new painting here and there. The furniture moved around a bit. But basically the same.

"You didn't change much around here." I stated.

"I liked the way it looked." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Joyce didn't add any of her tastes?" I asked.

"Just in the bedroom." Dickie smirked.

I just walked into the living room. I looked at the big picture window. "I think we should wire this window. Those two. . ." I said pointing to the ones on either side of the fireplace. ". . . are too high up and too small for anyone to get through. Those can be monitored with a camera that should be set up in that corner." I said pointing to one corner. "The camera would be out of sight of the picture window and can capture anyone entering either from a window or from the doorway."

Ranger nodded his head and made a notation on the paper attached to his clipboard.

We continued into the dining room. I looked at the dining table with disgust.

"What's the matter, Steph? Something wrong?" Dickie was egging me.

"Nope. Not a thing." I said. I continued with my assessment. "The French doors need to have better locks and wired." I opened the doors and looked out on the patio. "A camera needs to be placed in that corner. It is rather secluded and anyone can hide there." Ranger nodded his head again.

I came inside and went into the kitchen. "This room seems to be O.K. maybe just wire that window over the sink. We continued into the den. "The sliding glass door needs a better lock." I slid open the door and walked out onto a deck. It was new I noticed and there was a hot tub in the corner. I had a shiver run up my spine when I thought of what he was doing while in the hot tub. It made me sick just thinking about it. "I don't know if you want a camera out here. I don't think you would want us to monitor what you are doing in that hot tub."

"Why not? I have nothing to hide. Maybe your men would love to have something more interesting to watch than boring video feeds of cars just driving by." Dickie said to Ranger.

Ranger said nothing. We continued our tour. In the hallway were the powder room and laundry room, both were inside rooms with no windows. The door to the garage was opposite. I mentioned that better locks should be installed. I opened the door and looked in the garage. I noticed that Dickie had a new Jaguar.

"A camera should be placed in the far corner of the garage. New garage door openers should be installed too. Key pad right here by the door. It is still accessible if you should enter through the front door. But more than likely you will be coming in the house through the garage. I know you would never leave your baby parked in the driveway."

We walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor. "A camera should be placed at the top of the stairs."

We went into the bedroom that Dickie had turned into an office. "Do you still have the safe in here?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said.

I walked over to the wall where the safe was hidden inside a cabinet of the built-in-bookcase. "I think that we should put an alarm under the carpet. Anyone walking over here will set off the alarm with their weight." Ranger gave me a smile and nodded his head.

We checked out the other bedroom in the front of the house. It was over the garage.

"Not much in here. No trees out front to be used as an access to the 2nd floor. So unless someone comes with a ladder. There shouldn't be any problem. And the outside cameras would pick that up."

We continued on to his bedroom. I stopped outside in the hall. I couldn't go in. Ranger came up to me and he squeezed my hand.

"Do you think you could finish up here? I need to get some air."

"Sure, Babe. I'll meet you outside."

I hurried down the stairs and out the front door.

Ten or fifteen minutes later Ranger and Dickie came outside. Ranger took my hand as we walked the perimeter of the house. Ranger finished up the assessment. Making notations as to where motion detectors and cameras would be placed. Where lights would be installed.

"Well, I think we are done here. I'll write up a proposal for you and send you information on the security systems." Ranger said shaking Dickie's hand.

"That will be fine. I look forward to hearing from you." Dickie said. "Steph it was nice to see you again." He extended his hand to me, but I wouldn't take it.

"Nice to see you too, Dickie." I said. _"Not."_ I said to myself. But Burg manners made you said that crap. Even when you didn't mean it.

When we got in the car, I turned to Ranger. "You will wash that hand before you touch me." I turned to look out the window. I didn't say anything more.

"Babe." I didn't respond. "Babe?" He asked. I still didn't respond. I was waiting for him to ask why I asked him to finish up the assessment. "You did well back there. Better than I thought. You picked up on things and suggested things that I would have. I'm proud of you." Ranger said. I nodded my head and continued to look out the window.

We pulled into the garage at RangeMan. I got out of the car and headed for the elevator. When the doors opened, I hopped in and hit the button for the 6th floor. I had to get Ricky and thank Ella for watching him. Ranger walked in behind me. He pressed the button for the 5th floor.

"Is everything O.K?" He asked.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. If it's all right with you, I'm going to get Ricky and head for home."

"Sure, Babe. I'll be home later. I want to get the proposal written up."

"That's fine." I said. I know I was being cold toward him. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I had, standing outside the bedroom door. It was a room I had once shared with Dickie. I know I was acting stupid.

Ranger got off the elevator on the 5th floor. He went to touch me and I just moved away. He just looked at me and got off. "I'll see you at home, Babe." I just nodded my head.

I got off the elevator on the 6th floor and knocked on Ella's door. She opened the door holding Ricky. Ricky's eyes lit up at the sight of me and he reached for me. I took him in my arms. "There's my big boy. Were you good for Auntie Ella?'

"He was an angel. How was your day?" She asked.

"Fine. I'm just getting Ricky and then we are going to head for home." I said.

"Is everything O.K., Stephanie? You seem a little . . ."

"Upset? Uneasy?" She nodded her head. "Sorry. It's just that we were at my ex-husband's house. He is hiring RangeMan to provide security for his home. It was just awkward to be there again. I lived there when we were married. He hadn't changed anything in the house. It was almost exactly the way it was when we were married. The only room I didn't go in, was his bedroom. He said that was the only room that had been changed. He said that the woman he cheated on me with had made a few changes. I don't know if he was bating me, but I couldn't step a foot in that room. I asked Carlos to finish up the assessment. The Dickhead shook Carlos' hand and I told Carlos he had to wash his hand before I would let him touch me."

"Did Carlos say anything about the room?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, and I didn't ask. It was just too weird. To be in a room I slept in with another man with the man I am currently sleeping with." Ella patted my arm and gave me a smile. "Well, thanks for watching Ricky for me. I hate to be a bother."

"Nonsense. It was my pleasure." She said.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ella. Thanks again." I hefted Ricky on my hip. "Come on Little Man. It's time to go home."

_______________

I was playing with Ricky in the living room when Ranger came home. He came over by us and got down on the floor.

"Hi, Babe." He leaned in for a kiss.

"Hi." I said. "Did you wash your hands?" Ricky knocked over the tower I had built and he was shrieking with laughter. It was just what I needed after the day I had.

"Yes, I did." He answered. "You want to tell me what happened back there today?"

"Not right now." I said I started to build a tower again for Ricky. Miranda came in to announce that dinner was ready. Ranger scooped Ricky up and held him up in the air over his head. Ricky just laughed some more.

"Did you have a good day today with Auntie Ella?" Ranger asked him. He put him in his highchair and strapped him in.

I broke up some dinner roll and gave it to him. Then I put some steamed vegetables on a plate to cool. I cut up some chicken for him too. I put a spoon full of rice on the plate too. When I thought it was cool enough I gave it to him to eat. He dug in like a starving man.

"Mmmm." Ricky said.

"I guess he takes after you." I said to Ranger.

"Give him time. He hasn't had a chance to try many things yet." Ranger responded.

"I made yogurt parfaits for dessert." Miranda said as she came to make sure we didn't need anything.

"Ooh Ricky. Yogurt parfaits. Yum." I said to my son.

Ranger just watched me as I interacted with our son. I knew he wanted me tell him why I acted the way I did this afternoon. But he wasn't going to push me.

After dinner. I helped Miranda clear the plates. She told me to go and sit down but I said I wanted to help. I was stalling. I was waiting for the last possible minute before talking with Ranger.

Ranger was giving part of his parfait to Ricky. Ricky was loving it. He couldn't wait for more.

"Babe, I think he has a sweet tooth like you. Right now its fruit and yogurt. Next it will be chocolate swirl ice cream. And before you know it, it will be pineapple upside down cake." He said.

I smiled at our son as he ate up the parfait.

After Ricky was done, I got up to take him out of the highchair and take him upstairs for a bath.

"Babe. I'll do it tonight." Ranger said.

"No, I can do it."

"Let me. Go, sit and relax. Watch some TV or something."

I let Ranger take Ricky for his bath. I did go upstairs to get Ricky some pajamas for Ranger to put on him after the bath. I got an overnight diaper for him too.

I had already taken a shower when I got home. I needed to wash away the day's stress. So I had nothing to do but go back downstairs. I picked up the toys from the living room and put them in the toy box. I went to the family room. I sat down on the couch and started to flip through the channels. I wasn't finding much to watch. Miranda came into the living room and asked if I needed anything else.

"No, thanks for dinner Miranda. It was delicious. Ricky enjoyed it too."

"I know I could hear his approval in the kitchen while I cleaned up. I hope he continues to enjoy his food in the future. I am glad that you are starting to give him real food."

"Well, he is going to be a year old shortly. He still gets his formula."

"I have muffins for breakfast tomorrow. You can just warm them in the microwave. If there is nothing else, I will be going. I will see you tomorrow." Miranda said as she got her purse.

"Thanks again Miranda. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, dear." Miranda said as she walked out the door.

Ranger came down with a clean baby. I love the smell of freshly bathed babies. Baby wash and baby shampoo smell so nice.

I got up to get a bottle ready for Ricky. I let Ranger have some more daddy time with him. I came back with the bottle and a couple of books. Ricky got excited when he saw the bottle. I gave it to him and he took it and started drinking it. I sat down next to Ranger and opened the book. It was one of the touch and feel books. I read the page and then let Ricky feel the texture on the book. I could see Ricky's eyes getting heavy by the time we got to the third book. His bottle was almost finished. I read the last book and Ricky was asleep. I took the bottle from him and Ranger and I headed up stairs to put him to bed. We each gave him a kiss and I turned on the monitor.

"Why don't you go and get ready for bed too. I'll go and lock up and turn off the lights downstairs." Ranger said.

I knew that as soon as Ranger got into bed he would ask me about this afternoon. I slowly got ready for bed. I did my usual nighttime routine. Washed and moisturized my face. Put some moisturizing body lotion on the rest of me. Brushed my teeth and bushed my hair. I put on a nice short baby doll nightgown and matching panties. Maybe I could distract Ranger with some sexy lingerie. Then I thought that probably won't work as what he was probably going to question me about had to do with the bedroom that my ex-husband and his skanky girlfriend used.

Ranger came into the bedroom and saw me sitting on the edge of the bed. He smiled at me as he went into the bathroom. A short time later he came out wearing his black silk boxers. He came over to the bed and got in. He reached over and pulled me over to him. He just held me for a while with my head nestled against his neck.

"So, do you want to tell me about this afternoon?" He asked quietly.

"Not really."

"Did I do something to upset you?"

I lifted my head and looked at him. I shook my head. "No, you didn't do anything to upset me."

"But something obviously upset you?"

I nodded my head as I laid back down.

"But you aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"No, because now when I think about it, it was dumb and stupid and embarrassing."

"Babe. Whatever feelings you are having are not dumb, or stupid or embarrassing to me. I don't want you to feel that you can't tell me what you are feeling."

I still didn't say anything. "Is it the job? Because I don't want you to feel uncomfortable when you are entering people's homes and looking at their personal spaces. That includes their bathrooms and bedrooms. It's something that has to be done if we want to provide them with the security and protection that they need."

"I'm not uncomfortable going in people's houses."

"Then what was it today? Tell me. Please."

He got me with the 'please'. "Promise me you won't laugh and make fun of me?"

He kissed me on the forehead. "I promise." He said.

I cleared my throat. "I couldn't go in . . . in . . ."

"The bedroom." He finished for me.

"The bedroom. Because it . . . it . . . felt funny. This was a room that I once shared with Dickie. We . . . we . . ."

"Made love."

"No. We had sex in that room. I don't think we ever made love. And then knowing that he had sex with Joyce and maybe other women in there. It made me feel funny. And to think that he could have been doing other women while we were married just grosses me out."

"Babe."

"And then to have you there, in a room I shared with another man. It . . . . it . . . just made me uncomfortable."

He hugged me closer to him. "Babe. You and I have made love in your bedroom in your old apartment and I know that Morelli had shared that bed with you."

"But that was different. That was my bedroom. I would feel the same way if you would be at Joe's house and walked into his bedroom. It felt funny to be in Dickie's dining room knowing the last time I was in that room was when I found Dickie and Joyce going at it on top of the table."

We were quiet for a while. Ranger just holding me and caressing me.

"So what did his bedroom look like?" I asked.

Ranger chuckled. "Babe. If you were that curious why didn't you at least take a look?"

"I just want to know what changes Joyce made. Dickie said that was the only room that was changed."

"Were there mirrors on the ceiling when you lived there?"

"Oh God! No!"

"There aren't any now. I don't know what it looked like when you were there. So I couldn't tell you what was different."

"The walls were blue and there was a navy and burgundy plaid comforter on the bed. The curtains were the same material. There were two wing back chairs in burgundy by the French doors that opened to the balcony. The balcony is what covers the patio below. The furniture was maple and very masculine. Kind of like this room."

"Don't you like this room?"

"Yes and no."

"What don't you like about this room? You know you can change anything you want. This is your room too. And that goes for the rest of the house. I know that the only room you changed was Ricky's room."

"Well, can I change the bedding? Pick out a new comforter and maybe new curtains? Maybe add some throw pillows?"

"As long as it hasn't a lot of ruffles or too lacy. The only lacy things I want in this bedroom is something like what you have on right now." He leaned over me and gave me a passionate kiss that curled my toes.

"And to answer your question earlier, the room looks the same as when you were there from the way you described it. Except for the sex swing."

It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about. And then it dawned on me.

"Ohmigod! A sex swing?"

"I swear to God." He said as he kissed me again and his hands crept up under the nightie and caressed my breasts.

**TBC Chapter 22 - Boston Again**


	22. Chapter 22

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 22  
****Boston Again**

It was early July. Ranger and I were packed and getting last minute details taken care before leaving for Boston. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly this time. I double checked again to make sure I had everything that Ricky will need while he stayed with Ranger's parents. Ranger had taken our luggage out to the SUV already and came in to take some of the many things I had set out for Ricky.

"Babe, he is the smallest person here and yet he has the most luggage." He said.

"Babies need lots of things." I had two mega packs of diapers, one overnight pack of diapers, two cans of powdered formula, a box of rice cereal, a box of oat cereal, a box of Cheerios, some jars of baby food just in case, six baby bottles, a box of toys and books, his portable crib and highchair. In addition to a large suitcase with his clothes, pajamas, onesies, socks and shoes.

Ranger got it all to fit in the SUV. He slammed the door and made sure it was secured. I check my purse again to make sure I had everything. My phone, wallet with credit cards, my tracking pen, just in case, my gun was in my luggage as was Ranger's, lipstick, mascara and comb. I think I am good. If I forgot anything I could always go out and buy it.

"Ready Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I feel like I am forgetting something." I said as I walked out the door.

"Uh, Babe? What about our son?" Ranger laughed.

"Oh shit! How can I forget him? I knew this would happen one day." I went and scooped up Ricky where he was sitting on the floor playing with the noisy toy that Ranger bought him after he got out of the hospital. I picked up the toy too. He can drive his grandparents crazy with the noise. After all, their son bought it for him. I strapped him in the car seat, got in and we were off.

________________

We got to Newark and pulled up to Ranger's parents' house. Maria was waiting for us and came running out when we pulled up.

"Oh, Dios mi! Look how big he has gotten" She said when I lifted Ricky out of the car seat. I handed him to her. She kissed his little chubby cheeks. "Ricardo come and see how big Ricky has gotten." She called to her husband.

Ricardo came out and gave me a hug and a kiss and then he went over and kissed Ricky on top of the head. He then went to help Ranger with all the stuff I brought for Ricky.

"All this stuff is for Ricky?" Ricardo asked.

"Yes, I am afraid so. I didn't know what you might need. I didn't want you to have to go out and buy something for him." I said as I got Ricky's car seat out.

Ricardo and Ranger chuckled at me. "Only you, Babe." Ranger said as he kissed me.

They got everything but our luggage unloaded. Maria had lunch ready for us. Our flight from Newark to Boston was a 2:00 p.m. While we ate I went over Ricky's usual routine. What foods he liked. When his bedtime was. Maria made notes. After lunch we spent some time with Ricky. My stomach was tightening at the thought of leaving him. Then Ranger announced that it was time for us to leave. I hugged and kissed Ricky.

"You be a good boy for Abuela Maria and Abuelo Ricardo. I love you. Mommy and Daddy will be home soon."

Ranger took him from me and gave him a kiss. "I love you, Little Man. Mommy and Daddy will miss you, but we will be home soon."

I kissed Maria and Ricardo. Tears were in my eyes as I turned to leave. "Don't worry Stephanie. He's in good hands. You can call us to check up on him." Maria said as Ranger handed Ricky back to her.

"Good bye Carlos. You take care of Stephanie. It isn't easy to leave your children behind." Maria said to Ranger.

"I will Mama. I love you. Thank you for taking care of Ricky." Ranger said.

"Good bye, son. Ricky will be fine." Ricardo said.

"Thank you, Papa." Ranger said. He took my hand and led me out to the car. He opened the car door for me and I got in. He went around and got in the driver's side. When the door closed I just started to sob. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around me.

"Sshhh. It will be alright. Ricky will be well taken care of."

"I know. I can't h-h-help it. I f-f-feel like I'm aban-n-don-ing h-h-im." I said sobbing.

"Do you want to stay here? I can go to Boston by myself." Ranger said.

"N-n-no. I w-w-want to be w-w-with y-o-u-u." I wailed.

"O.K." He continued to hold me and rub my back to soothe me. Once the sobs quieted down he pulled back and lifted my chin. "You ready?" I nodded my head. He reached across me to put my seat belt on. Then he got himself situated with his seat belt. He started the car. I turned to look back at the house. Ricardo and Maria were on the porch with Ricky. They waved. Maria picked up Ricky's hand and had him wave at us. I waved back, tears still continued to fall. I waved until we turned off the street. Ranger took my hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. Then he placed it on his thigh. He rubbed his thumb back and forth in a comforting caress on the back of my hand. We didn't say anything the rest of the way to the airport.

We were flying out of Newark, which was why we decided to have Ranger's parents watch Ricky, and got to the airport and parked the SUV in the long-term parking structure. We caught the shuttle to the terminal. We checked our luggage and checked in at the counter. We then made our way through the long security lines. The whole time Ranger held my hand.

We got to our gate and found a quiet place to sit while we waited for our flight. Ranger wrapped his arm around me and held me. Quiet tears were still falling down my face. Finally, they announced our flight and we got up to head for the boarding ramp. We were flying first class and got to board first.

We got to our seats. I put my seat belt on. A flight attendant came over. "Is everything O.K.? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No. We're fine. We just had to leave our 10 month old son at my parents. It's the first time she is going to be away from him more than a couple hours." Ranger explained.

"Oh, I understand. I have a two year old at home. The first time I had to leave her it was hard. I know how she feels. If there is anything I can get for you just let me know. My name is Carrie." She said.

"Thank you, Carrie." Ranger said. I gave her a small smile. I put my head on Ranger's shoulder. The tears still hadn't stopped. Ranger took my hand. "Why don't you close your eyes and try to get some sleep." He said to me.

"I can't sleep on planes. I'm afraid it'll crash and won't be able to get out."

"Just rest your eyes then. We should be landing in about an hour and fifteen minutes."

I closed my eyes. The tears had finally stopped. Before I knew it I was asleep.

________________

Ranger gently nudged me. "Babe, we will be landing soon." I sat up and looked out the window. I looked around. I couldn't believe that I actually slept. I must have been due to the emotions of the day. I took my mirror out of my purse and looked at my reflection. I groaned. My eyes were all red and puffy. I looked a mess. Not how I wanted to present myself to the Rangemen of the Boston office.

"Is it O.K. if I stopped at the restroom after we land so I can fix the damage all my crying created?"

"Sure, Babe. We aren't on any time table. Only two people know we are coming. Anton, who runs the Boston office, and Jimmy. They will have a car waiting for us."

"So how many men work at the Boston office?" I asked. I don't know why I hadn't asked these questions before? It would have made sense to get a feel for the office before going there.

"There are twenty men who work full time. They work three different shifts unless there is a big job. Anton is like Tank. He runs the office when I am not there. Which is most of the time. Jimmy is his right hand man. Then there is Hank and Kenny. They would be like Lester and Bobby. Those would be the core team."

"Any women that work there?"

"There is one woman. Her name is Jackie. She works with the guys. And there is Marcy. She is like Ella. She cooks and cleans and does laundry for the guys that live on site."

"Does everyone live on site?"

"No, I have an apartment building a few blocks away where most of the guys live. The core team guys live on site. And I have an apartment there as well."

"Is it like the one in Trenton?"

"A little smaller. You'll see. I thought that once we got to the Boston office, we would check in. Do a quick spot check on the men. Then we can go out to dinner. There is a nice Italian restaurant not far from there. Then I thought we could maybe do a little dancing. We wouldn't be out late."

"Sounds O.K. Can I call and check on Ricky?"

"Of course you can."

The pilot came of the PA and announced our decent to Logan International Airport.

_______________

We found the black SUV parked in the short term parking lot. Ranger loaded the luggage in back. I got in and buckled my seat belt. I looked at my reflection in the mirror on the sun visor. I let out a sigh. I tried the best I could to make myself look presentable to the Rangemen. I still had red puffy eyes. I reapplied my mascara and added a few extra coats for courage. I tried to fix my hair the best I could. I would need to start from scratch to get it look right. I hope I had time to shower before we went out for dinner. It was already going on 5:00 p.m. I didn't know how long it was going to take to get to RangeMan.

We arrived at RangeMan in about 45 minutes. We parked in the underground garage. I noticed more black SUV's and a black Cayenne and a black Jaguar and a black F150. I was assuming those were Ranger's personal cars.

"Yeah, Babe. Those are mine." Ranger said using his ESP.

Ranger parked near the elevator. He helped me out of the SUV and led me to the elevator. I don't how much of a surprise visit this was going to be. I am sure the GPS showed the SUV at the airport and then heading back here unless the GPS was disabled. I didn't know if the cameras had been disabled. But I am sure that the gate opening up to let us in alerted whoever was in the control room. Ranger held my hand. He pressed the button for the 4th floor. This building was a little smaller than the Trenton office. It was only 6 stories. I figured the 6th floor was where Ranger's apartment was.

We got off the elevator and were greeted by Anton. He was big like all the Rangemen.

"BossMan, it is good to see you again." Anton said. "This must be Stephanie. I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you. I don't know what you've heard." I said shaking his out stretched hand.

"BossMan, she is a knockout. Her pictures don't do her justice." Anton said.

"Watch it. She's my woman." Ranger said.

"Don't worry BossMan. Celeste would have my head." Anton chuckled.

Jimmy came up to us just then. "BossMan. Good to see you."

"Babe. This is Jimmy." Ranger said. "Jimmy call a meeting. I want everyone who is here at this meeting. We will be in Conference Room A."

"Right BossMan. Oh Jacobs hasn't shown up yet for his shift."

"Oh? Where the hell is he?" Ranger shouted.

"We don't know. He had a hot date last night supposedly." Anton said.

"Well when he gets here I want to see him ASAP." Ranger said. "I am going to take Stephanie up to the apartment. We will meet in 15 minutes." Ranger took my hand and we got back on the elevator.

We got off on the 6th floor. Ranger opened the door. We walked in. Whereas the Trenton apartment was done in a Zen like fashion with modern furniture. The Boston apartment was done in more of a colonial look. There was a cherry lowboy in the entryway. There was a fresh flower arrangement and the required dish for the keys. The dish was pewter. There was a cherry coat rack.

The kitchen was done with stainless steel appliances. The cabinets in cherry. The dining room had Queen Anne cherry table that sat eight with Queen Anne chairs. The fabric on the seat was done in colonial blue brocade. There was a sideboard and a corner china cabinet. Sconce lighting on the walls and a chandelier over the table. There was a dimmer light switch on the wall.

The living room furniture was done in creamy leather but still had a colonial but more masculine feel. The coffee table and end tables were still the cherry Queen Anne style. There was a sofa and a matching love seat that created an ell. Then there were two wing back chairs in colonial blue and cream plaid. The same material was used for the throw pillows on the sofa. There was a fireplace and a built-in bookcase. More pewter was used in the form of candle holders and lamp bases. There were a few pewter bowls and plates. Small speakers were mounted on the wall near the ceiling.

The bedroom had a cherry four poster bed. It had a step stool to use to get into the bed. The bedspread was in colonial blue and cream. There was a cherry highboy dresser. With a matching armoire. Inside the armoire was the entertainment center with LCD flat screen TV and DVD player and stereo system. There were matching night stands on either side of the bed with pewter candlestick lamps. There was a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub.

The office space was small compared to the one in Trenton. It consisted of a Swarthmore writing desk. It opened up and the door became the writing desk. There were pigeon holes and drawers inside. Some bookcases along the wall. A small leather love seat sofa and a leather desk chair. There were the usual Queen Anne end tables.

"So, Babe. What do you think?" Ranger asked.

"It's nice. But it isn't really you. I can see why you don't spend much time here. It feels like a museum. Look but don't touch." I said.

"Wait till you try the bed, Babe. That's usually where I spend most of my time. That is why the TV and entertainment system is in there."

"Is the bed as comfortable as the one in Trenton?"

"You will have to wait to try it. Well, we should get downstairs."

Ranger took my hand, grabbed his keys off of the lowboy. We got off the elevator on the 2nd floor and walked to Conference Room A. We entered and everyone turned to look at us. Ranger led me to the head of the conference table. There were two seats left. One at the head and the other to the left of it.

"Good evening. Thank you for being here. As you know I was here a couple months ago but had to leave abruptly when our son became ill. I am back and I plan on doing evaluations and go over the books here. I brought Stephanie with me. I thought it was time to meet her. She will be coming with me from time to time when I make impromptu visits." Ranger smiled at me. I nodded my head at everyone as they all said 'hi'. I am sure they would introduce themselves to me. Whether I would remember their names was another question.

Anton got up. "We would like to say welcome to RangeMan Boston, Stephanie. And we all would like to congratulate both of you on your upcoming nuptials. A few of us will hopefully be able to attend the wedding of the year." A round of 'hear, hears' were shouted. "And we would also like to congratulate both of you on the birth of your son. We were hoping that we would be able to meet our future boss. Maybe next time you visit our fair city you will bring him along. But we do have a gift that we would like to present to the two of you."

Jimmy came forward with a nicely wrapped gift. He gave it to me to open. I set it on the table and removed the bow. I removed the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside were three black t-shirts. One said 'BossMan' where the shirts usually had 'RangeMan' embroidered. The other t-shirt said 'Boss' Woman' and the little t-shirt said 'BossMan, Jr.'. There were also personalized travel coffee mugs for Ranger and me. And a personalized sippy cup for Ricky.

"Thank you everyone. This was very thoughtful of you." I said. Ranger smiled.

"Well, if there is nothing pressing Steph and I have dinner plans for tonight. We will both see you tomorrow." Ranger said.

Everyone got up. They came over to where Ranger and I were standing and introduced themselves to me. I shook their hands. There was no way I was going to remember all their names. Maybe by the end of the week I would be able it identify a few of them.

Ranger and I went up to the apartment. Our luggage was there. I grabbed my garment bag and my tote bag with all my toiletries and headed for the bathroom.

I scrubbed, exfoliated and moisturized every inch of my body. I was able to tame my hair. I put it up with a few curls framing my face. I put on new dress that Ranger bought in New York. I wore the ruby and diamond necklace and earrings that Ranger purchased in New York also. I put on sheer thigh highs and red FMP's that I found to match the dress.

I walked out to the living room where Ranger was waiting. He was dressed in his delectable suit.

"Babe."

"You like it?"

"You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And you are all mine."

He gave me a passionate kiss. He stopped. "If we don't leave now then we won't get to the restaurant." He took my hand and led me out of the apartment.

**TBC Chapter 23 - Jacobs**


	23. Chapter 23

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 23  
****Jacobs**

We were holding hands as we headed down in the elevator when it stopped on the 4th floor. The doors opened and Jimmy was there.

"Ranger, I hate to bother you but we have a situation. Can you spare a few minutes of your time?"

"Sure. Babe, why don't you go down and wait by the car. You can pick the car. I'll only be a few minutes." Ranger said as he kissed the back of my hand before he let go.

"O.K., but don't take too long." He got out of the elevator and I continued down to the garage. I got out and went to stand by the Jaguar. I wanted to see if a Jag did the same thing to me as the Turbo did. I wanted to feel the rumble of the engine all the way to my doo-dah.

I was leaning against the car when an SUV pulled in. A man got out and looked at me. "Excuse me, ma'am. What are you doing here? How did you get in here? This is a secure building. How did you get past the security?" He said. He didn't even let me answer one question before he asked another. He grabbed my arm.

"Hey! Let go!" I yelled trying to pull away.

"I am taking you up stairs and then I am going to find out who is on the monitors and find out why they didn't catch you." He said as he pulled out a pair of hand cuffs.

"Hey! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" I shrieked as he snapped the cuffs on my wrists. "I am waiting for Ranger."

"Nice try, but there isn't anyone here by that name." He said as he grabbed my upper arm and hauled me to the elevator.

"What the . . ." I said as he pressed the button for the elevator.

**Ranger's POV**

Chuck came running into Anton's office. "Excuse me, but I thought you should know. Jacobs just pulled in and he is giving Stephanie a hard time and he handcuffed her!"

"What the fuck!" I roared. We all ran to the elevator and I pushed the button. The elevator arrived. We rushed in. I kept hitting the button for the garage. When the doors finally opened at the garage, I ran out.

"Just what the HELL do you think you are doing?" I yelled. I took out my keys and unlocked the handcuffs. I turned Steph around and brought her wrists up to my lips and kissed them. Then I rubbed them. "Are you O.K.?" I asked her. She nodded her head. I then turned his attention back to the man that handcuffed my Babe. If looks could kill then he would have been dead. I was extremely angered. She was too for that matter.

"Uh, uh, uh," The man said.

"Is that all you can say?" I asked. "I want to know why you handcuffed my fiancée. Then I want to know why you are late for your shift? And you better answer me quickly before I decide to fire you here and now!"

"Ranger. I didn't know you were going to be here." He said sheepishly.

"Of course you didn't know I was coming. It is called a surprise inspection. And so far you haven't made any points. You are late. You have disrespected my fiancée, which is an insult to _me_. And I am not getting much of a response from you for your actions."

"I . . . I . . . I'm sorry. I just saw this woman that I didn't recognize leaning against your Jag. I didn't know you were coming and that you were bringing your fiancée with you. I didn't see anyone around. She was unescorted."

**Steph's POV**

The other men that came down with Ranger just stood there. They looked like they were glad it wasn't them that pissed Ranger off.

"Stephanie and I have plans for the evening. Meet me in the gym at 0500 hours. And you better not be late." He turned and opened the car door for me. I got in. He closed the door and ran around to the other side. He got in and started up the car. The car rumbled similarly to the Turbo. It was good but not as good as the Turbo. We left the garage. The men were still standing there. Ranger reached over to take my hand.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Matt Jacobs." Ranger said. "So what happened, Babe?"

"I was waiting for you. He pulled in and came over to me. He asked a lot of question but didn't give me time to answer them. He grabbed my arms and handcuffed me and started to drag me to the elevator when you and the other guys ran off of it."

"He didn't let you answer any of his questions?"

I shook my head. "I told him I was waiting for you and he said that there was no one there by that name."

"They say that when I am not there. He didn't hurt you any other way did he?"

I shook my head. "No. Just my pride."

"Cause if he hurt you, he is a dead man."

"Carlos. I'm fine. It felt like I was being treated like I was a hooker standing on some street corner and being dragged off by the cops."

"He will be paying for treating you like that. He had no right."

"He was doing his job."

"But if he had let you explain before manhandling you like he did, I would accept that. But he didn't wait for an explanation. He just handcuffed you and dragged you around like you were a skip."

"I'm O.K. But I would like to be with you in the gym tomorrow morning so be sure to wake me up. I would like to add to his punishment."

"Babe?"

"You work on him first and when he is tired and worn out let me have a few minutes with him. I want to show him that he can't manhandle me. I would have shown him tonight, but I spent a lot of time to look good for you that I didn't want to get messed up."

Ranger chuckled as we parked the car in the parking lot of restaurant that he picked.

Nicole Ristorante was a very nice intimate restaurant located in the North End. The food was excellent. Almost as good as Rossini's. Ranger wanted to take me dancing, but the events and emotions of the day started to take their toll. Ranger noticed I was starting to crash so we headed back to RangeMan Boston. I got ready for bed and was sitting propped up against the headboard waiting for Ranger to come join me in the big four-poster bed when I realized I never called to check in on Ricky. Ranger came out of the bathroom and saw me crying. He rushed over.

"Babe, what's wrong?" He said as he held me and rubbed my back trying to soothe me.

"I for-got to call y-y-our mom and d-dad to ch-ch-check on Ric-ky! I'm s-s-such a b-b-bad m-m-m-other! H-h-how c-could I for-get our s-s-son?"

"Sssh! Babe, you are not a bad mother. A lot happened today. There wasn't time."

"I s-should h-have m-m-made t-t-ti-me! He's our s-s-s-son! He s-s-should h-have b-been my p-pri-or-ity!" I continued to sob.

Ranger took out his phone and dialed. "Hello Papa. Yes, I know it's late. Stephanie is upset that she didn't call earlier to check on Ricky. Here she is." He handed the phone to me.

"H-h-hello? Hi Ricardo. Is Ricky O.K.? Oh I'm glad. I feel s-so b-bad that I d-didn't call earlier. I'm s-sorry I woke you. Give him a kiss from m-m-me in the morning. Thank you. I'll call tomor-row. Goodnight Ricardo." I handed the phone back to Ranger. "Thank you. You always know h-how to fix things."

"Not everything, but I try. Now let's get some sleep. We have to kick butt early in the morning."

It was early when Ranger and I got up. We got dressed for the gym and headed down. We entered the gym and there were a lot of guys in there. Some were working out; others were standing around waiting for the show. Jacobs was already there. Ranger nodded to him and move over to the mat. He took his shirt off and his shoes. He started to do some stretches to warm up. Jacobs did the same.

Ranger got up and got on the mat. He motioned to Jacobs. They danced around each other for a while. Ranger made a jab at Jacobs and Jacobs dodged it. Then Jacobs jab at Ranger and Ranger blocked it. It went on like that when finally Ranger made a jab and Jacobs dodged again but Ranger anticipated the move and hit him in the face. It didn't do much damage. So they continued. Ranger managed to hit him again in the face. This time it split Jacobs' lip.

After some more well places punches. Jacobs looked like he was getting tired. Bruises were starting to be seen on his chest, arms and face. He had a cut above his eye and the split lip. Ranger nodded at me. I had been stretching and warming up while watching the sparring. There were chuckles and groans as I got on the mat. We circled each other for a while. Jacobs was tiring from the sparring and from the hits that Ranger planted on him. I did a round house kick and connected with his jaw. There was applause and some cheers from some of the men. Others were jeering Jacobs.

"You going to let a girl beat you? Get in there show her who's the boss."

That got another reaction. "Jacobs if you hurt her, the boss is going to kill you."

Jacobs swung at me and I ducked and moved away. I had been training with the guys for about a year until I got pregnant. I started up again after giving birth as one of the ways to get back in shape. I heard Ranger call out to me. "Nice move, Babe. Keep it up." I was able to block or move away from all of Jacobs punches. He was tiring fast. I had one more move that I wanted to use. I was waiting for the right time. And that time came now. He came at me like a bull after more jeers about being beat by a girl. I let him come at me. When he grabbed me, I used his momentum as I dropped to the ground to throw him over me. He was lying sprawled on the mat. I got up with the help of Ranger.

"Proud of you, Babe." he said as he tucked a wayward curl behind my ear. He checked me over of scrapes and bruises. And I looked him over. Someone came up to me with a bottle of water and draped a towel around my neck. "O.K. show's over. Get back to work." Ranger announced. He went over to Jacobs and helped him up.

Jacobs came over to where I was standing with Anton and Jimmy. Someone handed him a bottle of water and an ice pack. He held out his hand. "Truce?" He asked.

I took his hand and shook it. "I'm Stephanie by the way." I said. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad."

"You have a pretty good round house kick there. I think you may have loosened a tooth with that kick."

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely.

"Don't worry about it. I had it coming. I should have let you answer my questions and let you explain. I guess I was just shocked to see such a beautiful woman standing in the garage. All my common sense went out the window. Who trained you anyway?"

"I got training from just about all the guys at the Trenton office. Mostly Bobby and Lester trained me."

"I'll have to let them know that they did a good job. When you got on the mat, I thought you would be a piece of cake to take down. From the stories that we heard about you getting covered in garbage and mud. I just thought you were trying to save face by trying to handle your own battles. But you can hold your own."

"Come on, Babe. Let's get upstairs and shower." Ranger said. He took my hand and led me to the elevator. He draped his arm around me and pulled me close to him as the doors closed. He gave me a long kiss.

"Aren't we on camera?" I asked when we broke apart.

"Yeah, but I am letting everyone who is watching know that you are mine and nobody better mess with you. Although you showed them you can take care of yourself. I'm proud of you. You did good. I'll have to let the Merry Men know that they did a good job with your training while I was gone."

"Maybe you and I should work out together sometime?"

"We do workout together, but in a different way. In fact I think I am ready to work out with you now."

We showered together and we did some calisthenics. We were too tired and I was emotionally drained that we didn't make love last night. Ranger called Marcy and asked for some breakfast to be brought up. We got dressed and I tackled my hair. When I had my hair done and make-up on, Marcy was entering the apartment with breakfast.

"Hello, Carlos. It is good to see you again." Marcy said. She was about the same age as Ella maybe a little younger. She had red hair that she wore in a braid down her back. She had green eyes. She was dressed in the RangeMan uniform.

"Babe, this is Marcy." Ranger said as he pulled me over. "Marcy takes care of the building along with her brother, Lonny. They are like Ella and Luis back in Trenton."

"It's nice to meet you, Marcy." I said as I shook her hand.

"It's nice to finally meet the woman that finally tamed Carlos. From what I saw in the gym today. I can see why."

I was slightly embarrassed that so many people were there to watch. "What you saw today is the new improved me. If you had seen me when Carlos and I first met, you would not have been impressed. I was a mess. I was always rolling in garbage or mud or puddles. I didn't know how to shoot a gun. In fact I was afraid of them. When I was bounty hunting, I lost more handcuffs than I can count because the skip always managed to get away from me."

Marcy laughed. "Well then Carlos did a good job training you."

"I can't take all the credit for that. I tried, but most of the training she got was from my men at the Trenton office."

Marcy moved to the kitchen and the snack bar. She unloaded the cart that she had stocked with covered plates. She lifted the lid off a plate of French toast. She then placed a bottle of syrup on the counter. She then placed a basket of bagels down and then some tubs of whipped cream cheese. She then lifted the lid off a bowl of cut fruit.

"I hope this meets with your approval." She said as she placed two glasses of orange juice on the counter.

"This looks wonderful. Thank you." I said.

"Well, I called Ella to find out what your likes are. She said that you pretty much enjoyed just about anything."

"That's true. As long as I don't have to cook it."

Marcy smiled. As she set a carafe of coffee down and two mugs. "Well there you go. Enjoy. You can just leave everything in the sink. I'll take care of them when I come up later. It's nice to meet you, Stephanie."

"Please, call me Steph." I said. "And thank you for breakfast. It looks wonderful."

Ranger and I sat down and I dug into the French toast. They were wonderful. Light and fluffy. It was just the way I liked them. I moaned in appreciation.

"Babe." Ranger said painfully.

After we ate, we headed down to the control room. Ranger asked me what I wanted to do. He was going to do some evaluations until lunchtime. I told him that if he wanted me to, I could do some searches. He told me to use the computer in his office. He would use one of the conference rooms for the evils. So he set me up in his office with some files and gave me a kiss.

He came to get me for lunch. We went out to a place near the harbor. While we were there we toured the replica of the ship that was raided during the Boston Tea party.

That is how the week went. We would work in the mornings. Have lunch someplace and do some sight-seeing. We toured the historical buildings on the Freedom Trail and used the Old Town Trolleys to get around. We walked in the Public Gardens and took a ride on the Swan Boats. One afternoon, Ranger had to work, so I did some shopping.

At night we would go out for dinner. We took a dinner cruise along the harbor one night. Another night we ate at the Cheers Pub or the Bull Finch Pub as it is really called. We went to Mambos for salsa dancing. One night we just stayed at the apartment for the evening. We rented some movies and just relaxed. The last night we were there we went out with some of the guys from RangeMan Boston.

Ranger managed to get all the evaluations on the men done and went over the books with Anton and Jimmy.

The best part of the trip was when we spent time together as a couple. Just the two of us. It was wonderful. We talked about our future together. We talked about having more kids, but not right away. We talked about my job and how well I adapted to doing inspections after the Dickie incident. We talked about how our lives had changed since we had met. And of course we made love every night.

**TBC Chapter 24 - Home**


	24. Chapter 24

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 24  
****Home**

The week flew by and soon it was time to go back to Trenton. Since we were there over the 4th of July holiday, we watched some fireworks from the roof of the building. We made our own fireworks every night making love. It was wonderful. No interruptions. Just the two of us.

We also talked about the wedding and we decided to write our own vows. We would not let each other see what the other had written. We wanted it to be a surprise on the special day. We wouldn't even recite them at the rehearsal. We also made other decisions as well. We picked the photographer and DJ from the reports that Ranger had done based on background checks and references. We did some shopping together and found gifts for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Ranger helped me pick out some outfits for the honeymoon. He still would not tell me where we were going. All I knew it was someplace warm, possibly tropical. It was heavenly to spend the time together but, I couldn't wait to see Ricky. I was wondering how much he grew. Was he walking yet? I would be upset if I missed his first steps. He started crawling while we were in New York with Julie.

I called daily to check in on him. Maria said is he was fine. He was eating well. There weren't any problems. I'm sure she would have said if he was walking, but then maybe she wouldn't so that I would be surprised when I saw him do it and think that these were his first steps.

The Boston office wished us a safe flight. They told us to come back soon. They were looking forward to our wedding. Which I am sure, some of them would be able to attend. Especially Anton, Jimmy, Hank and Kenny. I wasn't sure if Jacobs would be able to be there. I had a feeling that he would be on monitor duty for quite some time.

It was different this time on the plane. I was basically bouncing in my seat. When the plane touched down at Newark, I had my seat belt off. I was ready to deplane. I thought I could walk faster to the gate than the plane was taxiing to the gate.

Once we were off the plane, I had to drag Ranger to the baggage claim area. He just laughed at me. I wanted to see our son. Didn't he understand that?

We pulled up in front of Ranger's parents' house. I quickly got out of the SUV. Maria was at the door with Ricky. Ricky gave us a big smile when he saw us. I reached out for him and took him in my arms and hugged him, giving him kisses. Ranger came up to us and he took Ricky from me and gave him a kiss. "How is my Little Man?" Ranger asked.

We entered the house. Ricardo came over to greet us. "I had forgotten what it was like having a baby in the house. He is a very curious little boy. He was getting into everything."

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble." I thought. We still needed baby sitters for when we went on our honeymoon. And by then he could be walking.

"No, Dear. He was absolutely the best baby. Don't let Ricardo's comment upset you. Ricky was fine. He's a baby and he was just exploring his surroundings as he should."

I left Ranger to talk with his dad about the Boston office. I went into the kitchen to help Maria. Well, help the best I could while holding my son.

"So how are you, Dear?" Maria asked.

"I'm fine. I am so sorry I was such a basket case about Ricky." I said apologetically about my late night phone call.

"Don't be." She said patting my arm. "I just wish that more mothers were that concerned about their children. So, how was Boston? Did you have a good time?"

"It was nice to meet more of the RangeMan employees. Although, my first day there I was treated like a skip by one of the Rangemen."

"What? I am sure Carlos was not pleased by that. What happened?"

"No, he wasn't. There was a guy by the name of Matt Jacobs. He was late for work and wasn't there for the briefing Carlos gave. I was waiting in the garage for Carlos to come down. We were going to go out to dinner. He got waylaid by Jimmy and told me to wait for him. Jacobs comes in, sees me leaning on Carlos' Jaguar. He comes over to me. Asks me all these questions. Didn't let me answer any of them. Slaps some handcuffs on me and hauls me to the elevator. The elevator doors open and Carlos runs off and over to me. Unlocks the handcuffs and demands to know why I was being treated like a criminal. Jacobs gives Carlos a pathetic excuse, Carlos tells him to meet him in the gym at 0500. I go with Carlos and I get my own kicks and punches on Jacobs. After that I was treated better by everyone."

"So, what did you do while you were there?"

"I did some shopping. Carlos and I went to see the replica of the ship where the Boston Tea Party took place. We did The Freedom Trail tour of historical sites. We saw the North Church. Paul Revere's House. Saw Boston Commons. At the Public Gardens we took a ride on the Swan Boats. We drove around Beacon Hill. Took a dinner cruise out on the harbor. We went dancing."

"Did he get any work done?"

"Oh, yeah. He did that too."

"He must be worn out." Oh, I am sure that he was sufficiently worn out.

"I think we both are. It's good to be home and get back to our normal routine."

"Did you get any alone time? I know that you wanted to go to Boston for that in the first place?"

"Um. Uh. Yeah." I said embarrassed. You don't discuss that stuff with your future mother-in-law.

We sat down to eat. Ricky in his highchair between Ranger and me. We had Arroz con Pollo or Chicken with rice and flan for dessert. The food was excellent and Ricky was a good eater. I helped clear the table and helped put the dishes in the dishwasher. It was then time to pack up all Ricky's stuff into the SUV. Once everything was in, we said good-bye to Ricardo and Maria.

"Thank you for taking care of Ricky. And thank you for dinner. It was excellent." I said, giving Maria a hug.

"It was our pleasure. Don't listen to Ricardo. Ricky was fine. We are look forward to taking care of him again."

"Yes, he was actually no trouble." Ricardo said to me.

"Mama, Papa, thank you." Ranger said giving them kisses and hugs.

We got in the SUV. Ricky was strapped in the back seat. We waved good-bye to Ricardo and Maria. Even Ricky waved. Ranger held my hand all the way back to Trenton. It was good to get away but it was even better coming home and being a family again.

The wedding invitations were in the mail and I was busy searching the internet for birthday supplies. I wasn't finding anything I liked for the first birthday of a boy. They had a Baby Einstein theme, a Puppies theme, a farm theme, a little slugger baseball theme, a Sesame Street theme, a Mickey Mouse theme, a little quarterback theme, 1st birthday theme and so on. I didn't like any of them. I checked out the Superheroes theme. There it was, Batman. I couldn't help myself. I had to have Batman for the theme of Ricky's birthday. Next year he could be into Thomas the Tank Engine or Elmo or Cars. I may never have a chance to do this. And if when Ricky gets older and decides to do a Batman theme birthday again, so be it.

I placed an order for plates and cups and napkins. They had goodie bags, and things to put in the bags. All Batman related. There were Bat-a-rangs, Batman discs launchers, as well as party horns. Instead of cone shaped birthday hats there were Batman face masks. There were streamers and danglers. There were Batman shaped balloons and a Batman piñata. Everything to make a great birthday party. I ordered it all.

I was making out the guest list as I was waiting for a search to run. There were my parents, Ranger's parents, our grandmothers, Val and Albert and the three girls. Ranger's siblings and families, Mary Lou and her family, Lula and Connie, the Merry Men, Ella and Luis, Miranda and her husband. When I was finished we had about fifty people. Where was I going to put fifty people? Maybe I should have had a combined birthday party/wedding reception. All these people were invited to the wedding. I prayed that it would be a nice day out so that people could be out on the patio and deck and backyard.

Ranger came to my cubicle. "What are you up to, Babe?" He asked.

"I am getting Ricky's birthday party planned. Keep your fingers crossed and pray that it doesn't rain."

"Why?"

"Because there is going to be about fifty people there."

"Fifty?"

"Yeah, between our families and friends and co-workers that is how many we will be inviting. I am sure that some of them won't be able to attend, but we need to be ready if by chance they all show up."

"What are we going to do with fifty people, Babe?"

"Well, I ordered a piñata. The kids can hit that. We can get a badminton set and put that in the backyard. There is always the pool, especially if it is hot. Which it probably will be in August. Maybe have a water balloon toss."

"Babe, Ricky is a baby."

"He is only going to be one once. It's a big deal."

"O.K." He said as he leaned down to kiss me.

"Was there something you needed?" I asked.

"I was just going to suggest lunch upstairs."

"I have these searches to do."

"The boss says you can take a break."

"He does, does he?"

"Yeah, he does." He kissed me again as he pulled me out of my chair and led me to the elevator.

The package arrived a couple of days later. Or should I say packages. The piñata was in a separate package. I opened that first. I took out the Batman piñata. Lester happened to be walking past.

"Hey, Steph, whatcha got?" He asked.

"What's it look like?"

"I can see it is Batman, but what's it for? You aren't going to use that at your wedding are you?"

"No, it's for Ricky's birthday."

"Does Ranger know that you are having a Batman theme for his son's first birthday?"

"I sort of mentioned it."

"What do you mean by 'sort of'?"

"I sort of mentioned it before we went to Boston."

"And what did he think of it?"

"He said that Ricky was a baby and wouldn't remember his first birthday. I think he thinks it is silly to go all out like this for a first birthday. But he doesn't realize that there are some babies that don't make it to their first birthday. It is a milestone."

"Well, I don't want to be around when you show him all this stuff."

"He already was cringing when I told him how many people I was inviting. I can't help if he has a large family and how many friends and co-worker we have. Would he rather have two parties? Or one big one? I was thinking that I should have planned our wedding for the same day. Then we could have had just one big party celebrating Ricky's birthday, Ranger's birthday and our wedding."

"Well, good luck with the party." Lester said as he walked to his cubicle.

I had all the party stuff unpacked when Ranger walked by.

"Babe? What is all this?"

"It's for Ricky's birthday party."

"Babe, its Batman. I thought you would have picked out something cute for baby's first birthday."

"I didn't like any of them. I like this. Look at what they all have. We have a piñata that will keep our nieces and nephews and Mary Lou's kids occupied for a little while. We have all these streamers and danglers to decorate with. We have Batman balloons shaped like Batman. We have Batman masks instead of party hats. We have Bat-a-rangs.

"What are Bat-a-rangs?"

"They are boomerangs shaped like bats. Batman used them."

"Babe."

"What?"

"I can't believe you are going with a Batman theme for a baby's birthday party."

"As Lula would probably say, 'get use to it, Batman. Your Batbaby is having a Batbirthday with a Batcake and Batpresents'."

"Babe."

**TBC Chapter 25 - Happy Birthday!**


	25. Chapter 25

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**" This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 25  
****Happy Birthday!**

The month flew by and here it was August already. It was the day of the party. Julie was flying in from Miami. Ranger's parents were going to pick her up at the airport.

I was busy with the help from Miranda and Ella. We were putting up all the Batman decorations. We had decorations in the dining room, living room and out on the patio and deck. It was a hot day, which I was happy about. That meant that everyone could use the pool. In the invitations I stated to bring a swimming suit and towel.

Ranger was skimming the pool to remove bugs and leaves that landed in it. He looked hot and not just from the heat. He was wearing denim shorts and a black Batman t-shirt that I bought from him. He gave me some problems about it, but he put it on anyway.

Ricky was napping before the party, which I was thankful for. An over tired, crabby baby would not make for a good party.

I was setting the birthday cake on the snack bar. It had Batman and the Batmobile that Ricky can play with after the party. I also had a birthday cake for Ranger. Ranger came in from the patio and looked at the cakes.

"Babe, who is that other cake for?"

"You. Happy Birthday, Carlos." I gave him a deep kiss.

"Mmmm. Thank you. And thank you for the best birthday present I could have asked for."

I looked at him.

"Our son." He said as he gave me a thank you kiss.

"Mmmm. You're welcome. Can you go in the basement and bring up Ricky's presents?"

"Sure, Babe. Where are they?"

"They are behind the stairs."

"O.K."

Ranger came back up with a big box. "Babe? What did we get him?"

"It's a trike."

"Babe, he isn't even walking yet. You think he is going to ride a trike?"

"It's a three in one. It's called Rock, Roll 'n Ride. Right now when you put it together you will put the base down and the trike on top locking it in place. It is like a rocking horse. Then when he is a little older, you unlock the trike, pull the base up and it becomes the handle and then you push the trike like a stroller. Then when he is bigger, you take the handle off and it becomes a trike."

"What is in the other big boxes?"

"That is called SwingAlong Castle. It has a swing and a slide and a small rock climbing wall. It is small and will fit nicely on the patio or deck for now. We can move it inside in the winter.

When he gets bigger, we can get one of those larger swing sets with the tree house, a larger slide and swings and sandbox. And we can get him a Power Wheels vehicle. Maybe they will come out with a Porsche. I know they have a black Cadillac Escalade SUV with a real FM radio.

The other box is a sandbox from my parents. It has a cover."

"Babe."

"Carlos."

"What are all those other gifts?"

"Clothes and toys."

"What are the guests bringing him?"

"I don't know. More clothes. Toys. My sister got him a pail and shovel and other toys for the sand box. And your parents got him a pool."

"Babe, we have a built in pool already."

"Yes, but he can't go in the pool without an adult and a floatation device. This is one he can sit in and splash around."

Ranger brought up the rest of the gifts. I heard Ricky stirring upstairs so I went up to get him ready for the party.

I just got him out of the bathtub when I heard voices downstairs. Guests had arrived.

"O.K. Ricky. Your guests are arriving. We have to get dressed."

"Mumum"

"Yes, Mommy needs to get dressed too."

I dressed Ricky in denim shorts and a black Batman t-shirt too. I put socks and Batman shoes on him too. I then carried him into our bedroom so I could get dress. I put on denim Capri's and a black Batman t-shirt with a scoop neck. I put on some sandals and quickly went to add some make-up. Once the make-up was done and I checked my hair. It looked good. We were ready to go. I picked up Ricky and headed down the stairs.

"There he is. The birthday boy!" Maria called out. Ricky was all smiles. Thank God for naps. "I can't believe he's a year old already." Neither could I.

Maria took Ricky out of my arms and gave him a big kiss. Ricky looked around and saw Ranger. Ricky reached out his arms. He wanted his daddy. Ranger came over and took his son.

"Look at the two birthday boys." Maria said.

"Mama. Don't say that when other people are around." Ranger said.

"Carlos." I said. "Everyone knows that Ricky was born on your birthday."

Ranger groaned. Ricky was looking at Ranger's t-shirt.

"That's Batman." I said. "See you have the same shirt." I made a point of showing Ricky that we all had on Batman shirts. Ricky looked down at his shirt and then looked at Ranger's shirt again. He then pointed to his shirt.

"Ba-Ma." Ricky said. We all laughed.

"Yeah, Batman." I said.

Ricky pointed to Ranger's shirt. "Ba-Ma."

"Babe. His first words would have to be Batman."

"He says _Mumum_ and _Dada_."

"Dada Ba-Ma" Ricky said and giggled.

"Oh you got that right, Batbaby." Lula said as she and Tank walked in the house.

"Lula." Ranger growled.

Someone started to take pictures of the three of us with our Batman t-shirts. I looked and there was Julie.

"Julie!" I cried and went to hug her.

"Hi Steph." Julie said as she gave me a hug. "I feel kind of out of place. I don't have a Batman t-shirt."

"It just so happens that I have one for you too." I said as I went to the closet in the foyer. I pulled out a bag and handed it to Julie. She quickly pulled out the shirt and ran upstairs to her room to put it on. She came running back downstairs. Someone picked up her camera and started to take pictures of the four of us with our Batman t-shirts.

Everyone was outside. The day was hot but not extremely hot which was good. There was a badminton game going on with Lester and Julie against Bobby and Ram. Some of the Merry Men were in the pool. Ranger was manning the grill. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, brats and chicken breasts on the grill cooking.

My parents and Ranger's parents were sitting on the deck with Ricky. He was babbling to them and they were enjoying his story. My grandmother and Ranger's Abuela were sitting around the pool watching the Merry Men playing water volley ball. They were leering at the well sculpted bodies and the skimpy Speedos that some of the guys were wearing.

Lula, Connie, Mary Lou and Val were on the patio talking in hushed tones. I could hardly wait to find out what they were plotting. If they were planning my bachelorette party. God help me.

Our nieces and nephews and Mary Lou's kids were throwing water balloons at each other.

I went and wrapped my arms around Ranger's waist. "Hi Babe." He said as he pulled me forward so he could wrap his arms around me. "Is everything ready for dinner?"

"Yeah. Miranda and Ella are putting the finishing touches and checking to make sure they got everything. I was going to let the guys in the pool know so they can get out and drip off before grabbing their food."

"O.K." He leaned in to give me a kiss. Ella came out with platters for the various meats on the grill. I went over to the pool and let the guys know that dinner was just about ready. They all hopped out and grabbed towels to dry off. Grandma managed to grab a few of the guys as they walked past. Those who knew better got out on the other side of the pool. I went back to Ranger.

"After we eat, we will have Ricky open his gifts and then we will have cake. I thought we would have that last so I can put him in the bath tub after he devours his cake."

"Did you see all those gifts in the living room Babe? There isn't anywhere to sit."

"While I have Ricky in the tub maybe you and some of the guys can put together some of the toys, like the swing and slide thing and the sandbox."

"Where do you want the things, Babe?"

"I thought that the sandbox could go in the corner over there." I said pointing to the corner of the patio where the fence that encloses the pool area meets the patio. "And the swing and slide could go over there." I said pointing to another area on the big patio. The large awning that covered the patio area provided shade from the sun. "And his little wading pool could go there somewhere too. Don't put it by the sandbox cause you know where all the sand is going to go."

"Babe, the sand is going to wind up the pool anyways. You know that."

"Yeah, I know, but hopefully if they are not next to each other it won't be a direct hit. And he would have to learn to walk to put sand in the pool. I can't see him with a fist full of sand crawling to the pool to throw it in. It may give him an incentive to learn to walk."

Ranger gave me a look. I just smiled and patted him on the chest and went back in the house.

Everyone was done eating. Ella and Miranda were busy clearing the table and putting the food away. I called everyone into the living room to watch Ricky open his presents. I saved Ella and Miranda's gifts for last, hoping that by then they will have joined us.

Ranger and I sat down on the floor with Ricky. Julie was taking pictures and Lester had the video camera. We started with the bigger presents first. I pulled some of the paper off the gift hoping that Ricky would get the hint. He pulled a little piece of wrapping paper and looked at it. Then he put it in his mouth. I immediately removed it from his mouth saying "Ucky, no."

We finally got the first gift unwrapped. Ricky was having more fun with the paper then what was in the box. Of course he probably didn't understand what is was. It was a big box to him. Note to self. Have things put together already for Christmas.

We got the big items opened and Ranger set them by the patio door so they would be in easy reach when it was time to put them together. I got a smaller package for Ricky to open. He pulled the paper off and looked at the present. It was from Val and her family. There was an assortment of toys for the sandbox. There were a shovel and pail, a funnel, a sifter, a thing that when you pour sand into the top it made a wheel spin. There were some dump trucks and a bulldozer. Ricky liked the bulldozer.

By the time we got the rest of the presents opened Ricky was getting cranky. I saved all the gifts that I knew were clothes for later. I didn't think he would care about clothes. He did get a lot of toys. He got toys for the pool, like boats and other floaty toys. He got a baseball bat and ball and tee. A little basketball hoop and ball. Grandma Mazur gave him a couple pounds of sand for the sandbox. Lula got him a Batman costume complete with a cape and utility belt. He got his own folding chair for the deck. A little picnic table. A set of plastic golf clubs. A Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train set. A toy box to put all the outdoor toys in. Some musical noisy toys and educational toys from the Merry Men, Connie and Mary Lou. He had so much that I made a mental note to take some of the toys to RangeMan to leave there. Others could go to the grandparents' houses. That way I wouldn't have to lug a toy box back and forth.

It was time for cake. I picked up Ricky and we went into the dining room. There were two cakes. One that said 'Happy 1st Birthday, Ricky' with Batman and the other one said 'Happy Birthday, Carlos'. Ella made Ranger a carrot cake.

"Ba-Ma." Ricky said.

Miranda lit the one candle on Ricky's cake. We all sang happy birthday. Ricky looked at us as though we had all lost our minds. Then I bent over the cake with him in my arms and told him to blow. He molded his mouth into an oh imitating me. Then I blew out the candle. Everyone clapped. Ricky clapped too. Miranda took the cake into the kitchen to cut it up. I took Ricky's clothes off. I stripped him down to his diaper.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Ranger asked.

"I am getting him ready to eat cake." I said.

"Without clothes?"

"It's easier to clean him up after. Just take the diaper off and put him in the tub." I put Ricky in his highchair just as Miranda brought out the first piece of cake for him. I set it down in front of him. Julie had the camera ready. Lester had the video camera going.

Ricky looked at the cake. He touched it. Got frosting on his hands and tried to get it off his hands. He finally put his hand in his mouth and tasted the sticky stuff smeared on his hands. He took his hand out of his mouth and looked at it and stuck it back in. With his other hand he reached for the cake and he patted it or should I say he smacked it. Cake and frosting went sailing. He put that hand in his mouth. By the time he was done there was cake everywhere. In his hair, on his face, his chest, his arms and legs. Not to mention on the floor. A good thing I thought of putting a plastic sheet down under his highchair.

Everyone was laughing at his antics. I am not sure if he actually ate any of the cake. Ranger gave him a little spoon of carrot cake. Ricky's eyes lit up. He opened his mouth for more. So much for him taking after me. But wait, it was still cake, wasn't it?

He was finally done and I lifted him out of the highchair trying not to get any of the mess on me. I took him upstairs. Ella had filled the bathtub with water while Ricky ate his cake, so all I had to do is set him in his seat and let him splash around. I washed his hair and ran the wash clothes over the sticky mess on his face and rest of his body.

I got Ricky dressed again in his Batman t-shirt and denim shorts. We went out to the patio to join the party again. Ranger and the guys had the swing and slide put together and were filling the sandbox with sand. I took Rick over to the slide and set him on it. I held onto him as he slid down. Ricky giggled.

"You want to do that again?" I asked him. I put him back at the top of the short slide and had him slide down. He laughed and shrieked. After a few more times I placed him in the swing and strapped him in. Then I gently made the swing move. He had the biggest smile on his face.

Soon it was time for the party to end. We stood at the door. All of us, Ranger, me, Ricky and Julie. We said good-byes and thanked everyone for coming and the gifts. It was suddenly quiet in the house.

"Well we did it. We got through the birthday party." I said.

"Next we have a wedding to get through." Ranger said as he kissed me.

"No, first you need to go to the other RangeMan offices for their audits. And then we will get through a wedding." I kissed him back. "Oh, I almost forgot." I quickly went to the closet and pulled out the gifts I had for Ranger. I handed them to him. "Happy Birthday, Carlos."

He took the gifts from me and sat down to open them. "Babe, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but I wanted to." I said.

He opened the gift from Julie and Ricky. He smiled when he saw it. He opened the locket of the key chain and saw the pictures of Julie and Ricky inside. Then he turned it over and saw the engraving of their names and the year.

"Thank you, Julie. Come here Little Man. Thank you, Ricky." He gave Ricky a kiss on the head and leaned over to give Julie a kiss also.

Julie ran upstairs and came back down with a cardboard tube. "Here Ranger, uh Dad. This is for you."

Ranger took the tube and opened it. He pulled out something rolled up. He unrolled the item and looked at it.

"I did it just for you. So you can have a little of Miami here. Especially, in the winter. I thought you could put it in your office so you can look at it every day. And maybe think of me." She finished quietly.

I leaned over so I could see it. It was a watercolor of the ocean. It was very well done.

"Julie, I don't know what to say, but thank you. I will get this framed and I will certainly hang this in my office." Ranger said. He leaned over and gave her a hug. They stayed like that for a while. Father and daughter. He gave her a kiss on her head. "I always think of you." He said. He let go of her and looked at me. I could see his eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

Then he opened my gift of the titanium cuff links and tie clip with the diamond.

"Thank you, Babe. These are perfect." He gave me a deep kiss. When we parted, I said to Ricky that it was time for the birthday boy to go to bed. Ranger came with us. Julie went off to her own room. I decided that Ricky didn't need a third bath today and just put on the nighttime diaper and his pajamas. I chose Batman pajamas for tonight. Ricky saw Batman and said "Ba-Ma."

"Babe, you created a monster. He is going to want everything Batman."

"What is wrong with that?" I asked.

"You know perfectly well."

"I know. I have my own personal Batman." I kissed him.

"Babe, thank you."

I looked at him. Was he talking about the cuff links?

"I am talking about us. You, me, Ricky, Julie. Thank you for giving me a chance to know my daughter. Thank you for my wonderful son. Our son." We were standing there watching our son sleeping in his crib.

"I have another gift for you too." He looked at me.

"You'll have to wait about eight months. I'm pregnant. It must have happened while we were in Boston."

He picked me up and spun me around.

"Let's not tell anyone until we get back from our honeymoon, Please?"

"Why?" He asked.

"My mother will have a cow if she knew I was pregnant with my second child and not married."

"But we are getting married. Lots of couples have gotten married in situations like this."

"I know and I am sure they didn't make an announcement until they were back from their honeymoon and then claimed the baby was premature."

"Are we going to say that the baby was premature?"

"No. We will tell them the truth, but then we will be married so it won't look as bad."

"I thought you were using birth control."

"I am or was. But your sperm have the strength of a superhero. They can find their way to the target through anything. Same thing happened last time."

"Babe."

"You should be flattered. I told Joe that he needed to get checked out. Now you have proven three times that your super sperm can hit their targets even when you aren't aiming."

"I love you, Babe." He said as he placed his hand on my stomach.

"I love you too, Carlos."

"Are you O.K. with this?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. We talked about it and we both agreed to having another child. It would have been nice had it happened after we were married. I love you so much. I want you to experience the birth of your child. I want you to hold your child just minutes after he or she is born. I want you to have to deal with a pregnant hormonal woman for nine months."

"Babe. I look forward to dealing with you."

"You may regret it."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Take me to bed. My hormones are in hyper-overdrive. I want you to make love to me." He picked me up and carried me across the hall into our bedroom and closed the door with his foot.

**TBC Chapter 26 - Family Time**


	26. Chapter 26

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 26  
****Family Time**

Ranger and I were lying in our bed. It was early morning and this was how we usually started our day. We had our arms around each other. Ranger was caressing my stomach.

"How are you feeling? Any morning sickness?" He asked.

"No, more nausea then actual morning sickness. I have crackers in the drawer of my night stand and slowing waking up like this helps. No sudden movements." I answered.

"Are you sure you want this, Babe?" He asked.

"Why do you ask?" I responded afraid of his answer.

"I know you said in the past that you didn't want to have any kids. We never got around to talking about having kids before Ricky was born. And I know why you went ahead with the pregnancy. I just want to be sure that this is something you want. Something we both want. I don't want you to feel you have to do this for me."

"Well I am not going to end it. Like I said yesterday, I would have preferred it happened after we were married, but it didn't happen that way. Yes, I want to have your child. I can't imagine my life without Ricky in it. I want this child in my life too."

"Is this going to affect your wedding dress?"

"My dress hasn't been altered yet. And I am not going to instantly pop out like I am nine months pregnant. I will probably be showing by the time we get back from our honeymoon."

"I love you, Stephanie." Ranger said. "So, have you thought about whether it is a girl or a boy?"

"No, not really. What about you? Do you want it to be a boy or a girl?"

"I already have one of each, but I think I would want a little girl that looks like you."

We were quiet for a while. "Babe, when is your doctor's appointment?"

"I haven't called to set it up yet. I just found out yesterday. Although I suspected for a couple of days. I'll call later and set it up."

"I want to be there for the appointment. Hopefully it will be before I leave for Atlanta and Miami. What are your plans for today?"

"I set up appointments for Julie and me to get our dresses fitted. I don't know if Julie got her shoes yet. If not, then we will have to go to the mall. I was hoping that you could watch Ricky. I don't want to take him with me."

"I think I can do that. We have all those new toys to play with."

Just then a little voice could be heard on the monitor. He wasn't crying yet. He seemed to be talking. I heard the activity box going. Good he was entertaining himself. So Ranger and I just laid there and listen to our son play.

"Have you thought of names?" Ranger asked.

"Not really."

"I thought you had some girl names picked out from when Ricky was born? What were they again?"

"Erica Rose and Clarisa Marie. I don't think we should go with Erica Rose. Ricky . . . Erica . . . Ricardo. Too many Ric's."

"Then do you want to go with Clarisa Marie?"

"I don't know. I like Abigail, Abby for short. Or Emily. Or Olivia. We can still use Rose or Marie as a middle name. For a boy I like Noah. Or Brandon. Or Nicholas. Or Mateo."

"Not Nicholas."

"Why not?"

"Nicky and Ricky."

"Oh. Yeah. That would be bad."

"I like Emily Rose for a girl."

"Emily Rose Manoso. Do you like Rose or Rosa?"

"Rose. It still is a tribute to my Abuela, but still different."

"Now for a boy. What sort of middle name? What was your Abuelo's name?"

"Ricardo." Ranger said with a chuckle.

"O-k-a-y. I think that has been taken."

"If it's a boy, I like Mateo. What about Estefan for a middle name? We can name our next son after you."

"Mateo Estefan Manoso. I like that. What do you think?"

"I like it too, Babe."

Ricky started to cry. Our alone time was over. I got up and grabbed my robe and headed to the bathroom first before going to get Ricky. Ranger got up and grabbed his silk boxers and put them on. I came out of the bathroom as he went in. I went to get Ricky.

Ricky was standing in his bed hold onto the railing. He was rubbing his eye with his other hand. I noticed that the sheet was wet and so were his Batman pajamas. "Oh. Do you have a soaky diaper? Mommy will take care of it."

"Mumum."

"It's O.K. Ricky. Mommy will make it better." I changed him and put on sweat pants and a t-shirt. I would give him his bath after breakfast. "See all better now." I said as I picked him up off the changing table. "Let's go and see if Daddy and Julie are up yet."

We got to the kitchen. Ranger was there putting Ricky's cereal in a bowl for him. I put Ricky in the highchair. I went and grabbed a banana and cut some of it for Ricky. I put it in a bowl and placed in on the tray of the highchair. Julie came down still in her pajamas.

"Morning Julie. Did you sleep well?" I asked.

"Morning Steph. Morning Dad. Morning Ricky." Julie said and she gave her little brother a kiss on the head. "Yeah, I slept fine."

Ricky was looking at her. "Da." Ricky said pointing to her and looking at Ranger.

"That's your big sister. Julie." Ranger said.

Ricky looked at her again and looked at Ranger. Did he see the resemblance?

"Julie." Ranger said slowly.

"Lee." Ricky said. O.K. that was close enough for a one year old.

"So what is happening today?" Julie asked.

"Well, I made appointments for you and me to get our dresses fitted. Did you get shoes yet?"

"No, I haven't."

"Well, then the first thing we need to do is go to the mall for shoes. We better get going soon. Our appointment is for 11:00 a.m. The mall opens at 9:00 a.m. We can come back here and have leftover burgers and hot dogs for lunch. Do you have anything you want to do while Julie is here?" I said looking at Ranger.

"Why don't we just spend a quiet day? Just us. We can go swimming. Watch a movie. Play a game."

"Sounds good to me. Julie?" I said.

"Hey, I'm all for that." She said.

We ate our breakfast. Miranda had an egg casserole pre-made for us. We just need to heat it up. It was like an omelet. It had eggs, cheese, ham chunks, mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers all mixed together in a casserole dish. There were flour tortias that we could make breakfast burritos with the egg casserole.

Ranger was done first and went to shower so he could watch Ricky while I showered.

I jumped in the shower as soon as he came downstairs. Julie had already gone up for her shower. As soon as my hair was dry, I started Ricky's bath. I went to his room to get him something to wear. I chose a t-shirt that said _Daddy's Little Buddy_ on it. I thought it was appropriate seeing that he would be spending the day with his daddy.

I went down to get Ricky and took him upstairs and placed him in the tub. I quicky washed his hair and washed the rest of him and then let him splash around while I did my make-up.

I was ready to go, so I picked Ricky up out of the tub. Dried him off and put him in his outfit for the day. I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs with Ricky. Ranger and Julie were talking on the couch. They really didn't get to talk much yesterday with the party going on. I was glad to see the interaction. They both stood up when we got to the living room.

"Ready to go?" He asked as he took Ricky from me.

"Yeah. Are you ready Julie?" I asked.

"Yeah. Bye Dad. Bye Ricky." Julie said.

Ricky waved back and said "Lee."

I kissed Ricky and then kissed Ranger. "Have fun you two. We'll be back for lunch."

"Mumum." Ricky said and tried to reach for me.

"No, you can play with Daddy today." I said.

"Dada."

"Yep. Daddy will play with you today."

"Dada Ba-Ma."

"Yes he is." I said smiling.

"Babe."

Since it was just Julie and me in the car, I decided to take my Crossfire. Julie got in the car.

"How come you don't have an expensive sports car like my dad drives?" She asked.

"Because I have bad luck with cars. Your dad wanted to buy one for me and I told him no. I can't see buying a car that costs as much as a small house and then have it destroyed. I told him I would accept a car from him but it had to be made in the USA, my dad is a stickler for American made cars, and it couldn't cost an arm and a leg."

"Well this is a pretty cool car even if it is American made." She said. We headed for the mall.

When we got to the mall, we stopped at Macy's first to check out the shoe department. I told her what the shoes look like that the bridesmaids were going to be wearing and I showed her my shoes. I brought them along for the fitting. She looked around and found a pair of Patten leather sandals.

"Are these O.K. to wear?" She asked me.

"If you like them and they aren't going to hurt your feet, then get them." I said. "Just remember you are going to be in them for a long time." I started thinking that maybe buying the bridesmaids, Julie and myself satin slippers to slip into during the reception might be a nice idea.

Julie tried on several different shoes. She decided against the sandals as they rubbed on her little toe. She settled for a pair of Patten leather ballet flats. We moved to the accessory's department where I looked for ballet slippers. I found what I was looking for. They were stretchy satin slippers in a zebra stripe. The inside of the slipper was so soft and cushy. The sole was non-slip. I couldn't wait to wear them. I asked Julie her size and picked a pair for her. I found some in my size. I couldn't remember the other sizes I needed. I quickly called Mary Lou and got her size and then Lula and Connie. I found the slippers in all their sizes and it turned out that was all Macy's had. I knew then that it was the right choice.

I suddenly remembered that we were supposed the wear the undergarments that we are going to be wearing the day of the wedding so that the dresses can be fitted accordingly. I asked Julie if she did and she said no and neither did I. So we headed to Victoria's Secret to get underwear.

I thought that it would be best if Julie got a black strapless bra. I didn't know how her mother OR her father is going to feel about their daughter wearing a strapless bra and in black. But I figure better to wear a bra than not to wear a bra even for a teenager.

We found a bra/panty set in her size and went to try them on. They fit nicely and the underwire didn't dig into her ribs.

I quickly found another adhesive bra. And another pair second skin white satin and lace panty. We were set. We left the mall quickly and headed to the Bridal Shoppe.

Tina greeted us as we entered the shoppe. "Hi, Steph, Julie. I got your dresses set out in the dressing rooms. I see you brought the shoes. Good. Did you remember to wear the bra that you are going to wear? I told her yes we did. We entered the dressing rooms assigned to us and quickly changed.

We both stepped out of our dressing rooms at the same time. I was holding the back of my dress closed because I couldn't do up the laces myself. Tina came over.

"I'm sorry Steph. I got a phone call. Here, turn around and I'll tie the laces." I turned and soon the laces were tied. Tina tied the black sash in a simple knot and let the ends hang down the back to the train.

She turned to Julie and looked at how she had tied her white sash. "Here why don't we tie it just like Steph's?" She undid the knot and tied it like mine. Tina then went and came back with her pin cushion and started to get to work. She started with Julie first. Julie needed to have her dress taken in at the bodice and the spaghetti straps shortened. Once the straps were shortened the length was good.

Then it was my turn. The bodice needed to be taken in and the length shortened. To do that they would take it up at the waist. The waist seemed a little tight. So she said she will let it out. I hoped that the dress wouldn't be tight again in another month with the unexpected pregnancy. I didn't tell Tina that was the reason. It would be spread all over the Burg like the wildfires in California.

Tina said that she would have Julie's dressed finished in a few days so she can try it on before she leaves to go back home. I thanked Tina, and Julie and I headed for home.

In the car I turned to Julie. "Julie, can I tell you something if you promise not to say anything to anybody except me or your dad?"

"Yeah." She said hesitantly.

"I'm. . ." I started. It was almost as bad as telling your parents. "Pregnant."

Julie let out a breath. "Wow. I thought you were going to tell me that you didn't want to get married. I saw your face when you were getting fitted. And I thought you were changing your mind. You're having another baby? That is so cool."

"Yeah, it's cool all right." I said. "But my mother will have a fit if I tell her that I am pregnant again. It doesn't matter how old you are. My mother is going get on my case about being pregnant again and not married."

"But the wedding is a month away."

"Yeah, and that is why we are going to wait until after your dad and I get back from our honeymoon to announce it. So please, don't breathe a word of it. Not even to your mom. O.K.?"

"Sure Steph. I am honored that you confided in me. I hope that my dad knows."

"Yes, he knows. And he is happy and excited about it."

"Aren't you?"

"Of course I am. I just wish it wouldn't have happened so soon."

"So you did want to have another baby?"

"Yeah, we talked about it. But your dad and I weren't trying. It just happened. We were going to wait until after we were married to try. I wanted you to know so that if you happened to overhear us talking you wouldn't feel like we were keeping a secret from you. You are an important member of this family even though you aren't living with us all the time. I just wanted to let you know that."

"Thanks, Steph. It means a lot to me that you treat me like I was your own daughter. I guess I should consider myself lucky. I have two fathers and now I'll have two mothers."

I had tears in my eyes by the time I got home. We entered the house to find Ranger and Ricky on the patio playing in the sandbox. Ranger was scooping up sand with the shovel and putting it in the pail. Then Ricky would pick up the pail and dump it all over himself. He would laugh and laugh. It was like playing with the blocks. You would build the tower and he would come and knock it all down.

Miranda re-heated some hot dogs and hamburgers. She set out some of the leftover salads and side dishes. I cut up a hot dog for Ricky. I took a hamburger. There was even leftover cake. I helped clear the table. Ricky went down for a nap. So Ranger, Julie and I played Trivial Pursuit. Julie won.

When Ricky woke up from his nap. I lathered him with sunscreen and put on his swim diaper. I grabbed his baby floaty. I had already changed into my swimsuit and Ranger had put on my sunscreen. He made sure every inch of me was covered. He also got me into a state.

"I'll take care of you later." He said as he left our bedroom to join Julie in the pool.

I walked into the shallow end of the pool. Ranger and Julie were playing in the deep end. I got Ricky situated in his floaty and I started to push him around the pool. Ricky loved it. He kept pointing to where Ranger and Julie were.

"Lee. Lee." He kept saying. I guess he wanted his big sister. I called Julie over.

"Hey Jules. Ricky wants you to push him around the pool."

"Sure Ricky. I would love to push you around." Julie replied.

While Julie and Ricky were playing. I took the opportunity to join Ranger. He kissed me. "Do you think they will get along when he gets bigger?" He asked.

"I think so. Especially because Julie will only be here on occasion." I said.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked quietly.

"Fine. I told Julie about the baby." I said softly. Ranger looked at me.

"And?"

"She is excited."

"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone."

"We aren't. I asked her to keep it quiet. She isn't even allowed to tell Rachel. She said she wouldn't. She was honored that I confided in her. She said she was lucky. She has two dads and now she is going to have two moms."

Ranger pulled me to him and he gave me another searing kiss. "Babe, because of you I am getting to know my daughter. You are the one making all of us into a family. Not a typical family, but a family just the same. And I am head over heels in love with you. And I think Julie loves you too."

I blushed and gave him a kiss.

"How was the dress fitting? You didn't say anything." He asked.

"Well. Julie's dress should be done before she leaves, so she can have one last dress fitting before the wedding. My dress needs a little more attention. It seems that the dress was a little tight in the waist, so it needs to be let out. I hope that it isn't tighter next month."

Ranger placed his hand on my stomach. "Babe, our child is in there."

"I know. I didn't think I would be expanding this soon."

"Did the seamstress ask you about it?"

"No. And I didn't tell her. God, it would have been all over the Burg. I would just have to explain it as eating too much because of wedding jitters."

"I love you and you are going to look spectacular in your wedding dress. Even more so because you are pregnant."

"I love you too. I can't wait to be Stephanie Manoso."

I decided that Ricky had enough fun in the sun and I went to get him. We went to play in his pool on the covered patio. He was excited to sit and play with his boats. I sat down in a chair next to the pool and thought about the child growing inside of me. This time it felt different. For one, Ranger was here. I wasn't wondering where he was and if he was coming home. I wasn't as afraid as I was the first time around. I knew pretty much what was going to happen. My thoughts turned to whether it was a boy or a girl. I thought that I would like it to be a girl. Then we would have one of each. But another boy would be nice too. Someone to play with Ricky. They would be close enough in age. Would they get along? Or would they fight all the time? Would I be like my mother and compare the two of them all the time like she did to Valerie and me? I was suddenly splashed with water. Ricky was standing up in his pool and was splashing me. He was laughing.

"You think that was funny? You think it's funny to splash Mommy?" I picked him up and held him high and blew raspberries on his little tummy. He giggled. "I think that is enough pool time for you." I called out to Ranger and Julie. "I'm going to go in and get Ricky and I dressed. What are we going to do about supper?"

"O.K. Babe. We'll be in soon. How about we go to Pino's for pizza?"

"Yeah!" Julie shouted.

"Sounds good to me." I said as Ricky and I went inside to get dressed.

**TBC Chapter 27 - Ranger and Julie Leave**


	27. Chapter 27

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 27  
****Ranger and Julie Leave**

The week had gone by in a blur and now Ranger and Julie would be leaving for Miami. Ranger and I were sharing our morning ritual. We were holding each other and sharing kisses.

"Babe, I'm gonna miss this. It's going to be a long two weeks." Ranger said.

"I know. We will have to have phone chats in the mornings, but it won't be the same without your arms around me." I said.

"I'm going to need you to fill in for me at RangeMan. There are a couple new clients that you are going to have to talk to. Is that O.K.?"

"Sure, I can have Miranda or Ella watch Ricky. Or my mom and grandma can watch him."

"Tank can give you the files. You may want to check the searches again. I know you haven't been in the office much. Not that I am complaining. But the men just aren't as good as you at picking up on things when they do searches."

It gave me a warm feeling that I was better at something than the Merry Men for a change.

"I don't want you to over do it. I want you to take it easy. Go up to the apartment and rest."

"But I don't want anyone to suspect anything. What am I supposed to tell them?"

"Just tell them that you're a working single mom. That you have to take care of Ricky by yourself at night with me gone and you aren't getting the rest that you need."

"Do you think they will buy it?"

"They're men. What do they know?"

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Babe."

Ricky made his announcement that he was awake. Ranger and I kissed one more time. I got up to get Ricky. Ranger headed down to start getting breakfast. Julie was dragging herself out of her room.

"I wish I didn't have to leave." She said.

"I know, Sweety. I love having you here. We will have to sit down with your mom and discuss if it would be all right for you to spend more time with us." I said.

"I hope so. Especially, because I will have a new brother or sister to play with and help take care of."

"Remember it is our secret for the next month and a half. When we get back from our honeymoon, we will call you and let you know that you can announce it."

"I know Steph. Will you send me updates like you did with Ricky?"

"Of course I will. Even though you are miles away, you are still part of this family. Maybe you can come back when the baby is due. Which the doctors said would be in April."

"Spring break!"

I had my first doctor's appointment earlier in the week. Ranger got to go with me this time. The doctor said that everything seemed fine. They pinpointed April 13 as my due date. Which means I could have an Easter baby. My next appointment was scheduled for the week of the wedding.

_______________

We were at the airport. Ranger and Julie had just checked in and we were outside the security check point. I was hugging Julie good-bye. Ranger was talking to Ricky telling him that he had to take care of mommy while he was gone. He was supposed to make sure that I got plenty of rest and that he shouldn't wear me out. Ranger handed Ricky to Julie so she could say good-bye to him. Ranger pulled me into his arms.

"Babe, I wish you were coming with us."

"I know, but I probably shouldn't be flying just yet. The doctor said I should be fine for the honeymoon. Let's not push it."

"You will take care of yourself. You will eat well and get plenty of rest. I already told Ricky to make sure of that."

I laughed at that. God I love it that he can make me laugh. "Yes, I will eat the right foods and get some rest."

"I didn't say _some rest_. I said _plenty of rest._"

"Yes, Boss."

"I just want to make sure that you and the baby are going be O.K. while I am gone."

"Shhh. People might hear." I said softly. "Someone may be from the Burg or maybe friends of your parents."

"Call me if you have any problems. That means with the clients, with Ricky or with you. O.K.?"

"Yes. I will call you every night."

"And every morning."

"And every morning." Smiling that he remembered our morning quiet time.

"I love you, Babe. When I get back, it won't be long when you will officially be my wife."

"I love you too, Carlos. I can't wait to be your wife. I can't believe that it's almost here."

He gave me a bone searing, toe curling kiss. I didn't want it to end. For some reason I seemed harder to say good-bye this time then when he left for his last mission. And we know that this was only going to be for two weeks. We had no idea how long he was going to be away back then. After a few more kisses he finally pulled himself away from me. Julie handed Ricky to me and went to join Ranger to get in line to go through security. Tears were streaming down my face but I didn't care. Ricky and I waited until they went through the metal detectors. They both stopped and turned around to wave one last time at Ricky and me. Ricky waved back and I blew them a kiss. And then they were gone. Ricky and I slowly made our way out of the building and to the car. I used that time to try and get the crying under control before having to drive. I decided to stop off at Ranger's parents' house before driving back to Trenton.

_______________

I pulled up outside Ranger's parents' house. They weren't expecting me so no one came out to greet us. I got Ricky out of the car and was walking up the sidewalk when the door opened.

"Stephanie! What are you doing here? Is everything all right? Where is Carlos?" Maria said with concern in her voice as she came out to meet me.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything. We just dropped Carlos and Julie off at the airport. Carlos is taking Julie home and then spending time at the Miami and Atlanta offices. I didn't feel like going home to an empty house, so I decided to stop off and see you and Ricardo."

"Oh, of course. Come in. Come in." She said. "We were just watching TV. Actually Ricardo is watching TV and I was reading."

Ricardo met us at the door after hearing his wife's concerned voice. "What do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"She needs some company. Carlos and Julie left for Miami." Maria explained.

"Well, I am always glad to see my grandson and my future daughter-in-law. So how have you been? Have you recovered from the birthday party?"

"Yeah, I have recovered. But I don't think Carlos has. He is still putting together toys." I said. "Why does everything need assembling? I told Carlos I better start shopping now for Christmas so we can put everything together ahead of time and then wrap it."

"Wait till he has to put a bicycle together." Ricardo said. "I had to put together three of them one Christmas. Santa was bringing them. I think I got some of the parts mixed up. I just got the last bike finished when the kids woke up and tore down the stairs."

Maria and I laughed. "Was one of them for Carlos?" I asked.

"I think so." He said.

Ricky was crawling around. I didn't bring a lot of toys with me. Just what I usually kept in the diaper bag. He found the book shelf and started to take out books. I quickly went to pick them up and put them back. I noticed some photo albums.

"Would it be O.K. if I looked at your photo albums?"

"Not at all. Please bring them over here." Maria said. Ricardo went back to watching the game on the TV.

I sat down next of Maria. She took the albums from me and I picked up Ricky. She opened the album, and she told me what the pictures were and who was all in them. When we got to Ranger as a baby, I pointed to it.

"Look Ricky. This is daddy when he was a baby."

"Da-da."

"Yes, Daddy."

We looked at some more pictures. There was Ranger in various Halloween costumes. Ranger dressed in a little suit that must have been his First Communion. Ranger sitting on Santa's lap. Ranger and his bike in front of the Christmas tree. There were Little League pictures. Pictures from school. Some pictures in football uniforms and basketball uniforms. There were pictures with prom dates. I felt a little jealous when I saw them.

There was Ranger in his cap and gown, holding his diploma. There were pictures of him in his army uniform. He looked very young and very determined. There were other pictures in uniform as he got older. There were some pictures with Tank, Bobby and Lester.

I saw there were pictures of him with Rachel. A few from their wedding like the one Ranger showed me a while back. Some pictures of him holding Julie as a baby. There were a few scattered pictures of Julie and him as she grew up. There weren't too many other pictures of the three of them.

As we looked at more pictures, there was a picture taken of him outside an office building next to a plaque that said RangeMan on it. From the palm trees I guessed it must be the Miami office. There was a picture of him leaning against a BMW sports car. It must have been his first expensive car that he bought.

There were even some pictures of me with Ranger. Pictures from when Ricky was born. There were pictures of the three of us from last Christmas when Ranger came home. Ranger holding Ricky. You could see how happy I was compared to the pictures of Ricky and me when he was born. Then pictures of the three of us from the baptism and our engagement. I am sure that there would soon be pictures from the wedding added to the albums. Just as I was finishing the album, a voice sounded from the door.

"Hey, Momma. Hey Poppa. Oh, look who's here. If it isn't the tramp and the little bastard. Where's my brother? Did he dump you and now you are coming to my parents for a hand out?" It was Ernesto.

"Ernesto!" Maria shouted. "That is enough! I will not tolerate you speaking to Stephanie in such a manner."

"Has my brother gotten that paternity test yet? Or have you convinced him that bastard is his?" Ernesto continued with his torment.

"Ernesto! I suggest you apologize to Stephanie for you rude comments." Ricardo added.

"I can't believe you both are falling for this tramp's story. Don't you find it funny that shortly after Carlos has left for some government mission, that she suddenly becomes pregnant? Wasn't she with some other guy before that? She didn't get pregnant then, did she? No, she waits until Carlos leaves and claims her bastard child is his. Why? I'll tell you why. She wants his money. Plain and simple. So she claims the kid is his and now they are getting married. How convenient is that? She has him twisted around her finger and she has the whole family believing her sob story."

"Ernesto! Enough! Apologize immediately!" Maria shouted.

"No, its O.K. We should be leaving." I got up and put the album away. I picked up Ricky and the diaper bag. Located my purse, fumbled for the keys and headed for the door. I wanted to escape quickly. "Maria, thank you for your hospitality and showing me the pictures. I will call you soon." I said. I was shaking with fury.

"What's the matter, Steph? Don't like being told the truth?" Ernesto continued his dig.

"I have a long drive and I want to get home to _our house _before it gets dark."

"I believe that it is Carlos' house. Or did he change the deed to add your name?" Ernesto sneered.

Ricardo stood up and gave me a kiss and hug to show Ernesto that his comments weren't going to change how they felt about me. He stood there glaring at his son. Maria walked me to my SUV.

"I'm so sorry." Maria said as she gave me a hug. I was still trembling. I wish I could have lashed out at Ernesto and let the Burg girl in me let him have it. But I couldn't do that to Carlos' brother.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Maria." I said.

"I don't understand why Ernesto continues to treat you like that." She said.

She kissed Ricky before I strapped him in his seat. I then hugged and kissed Maria. "I guess we will have to wait and see if after Carlos and I are married if he changes his animosity toward me." I said taking some deep breaths to control my anger.

"I am sure that Carlos will have something to say about it. If not with words then physically."

"I hope not. I don't want to come between Carlos and his family."

"You are not coming between us and Carlos. Ernesto is the one coming between us and you and Carlos. If Ernesto keeps this up, then Carlos will make sure that you and he not come for family gatherings. He will not tolerate anyone treating his family in such a manner. Especially you and Ricky. I don't want to see that happen. We may have to make sure that Ernesto and Carlos do not show up to the same family get-togethers. The problem is we are never sure when Ernesto is going to pop in unannounced. Like today. He does that from time to time. I think Shantel gets tired of him and kicks him out and he comes here to lick his wounds. I don't know that for sure. Neither he nor Shantel says anything."

"Well that might explain why he treats me so bad. He is unhappy in his marriage and he doesn't want Carlos to be happy either. So he is trying to see if Carlos will choose his family over me. So he plants little seeds of doubt in Carlos' head. Like when he said that Carlos should get a paternity test. And that Lester could be Ricky's father. But Carlos knows better. Or at least I hope so."

"Carlos isn't going to choose anyone over you. You are his life. Unfortunately the rest of us are going to suffer because of that."

"We will just have to come to see you and Ricardo when no one else is here. Or have you come and visit us. I should get going. Thank you again for the hospitality."

"Call me when you get home so I know you got home safely."

"I will." I got in the SUV and drove off heading for Trenton and home.

_______________

I had just put Ricky in his crib, when the phone rang. I raced into our bedroom to answer it. I hoped that it was Ranger.

"Hello?" I said.

"Yo, Babe. I tried your cell phone but you didn't answer. Did I call at a bad time?"

"Yo, yourself. No. I just put Ricky to bed. My phone is in my purse downstairs so I didn't hear it. Did you get Julie home O.K.?" I responded.

"Yeah, Rachel asked me to stay for dinner, so I did. I talked to her and Ron about letting Julie come for more visits. They said they will have to discuss it and get back to me."

"That's great."

"So how are you doing? What did you do after we left you? I hope you took it easy."

"I'm O.K. I miss you terribly. I stopped off to see your parents."

"Oh?"

"I didn't want to make the drive until I got my emotions under control, so I went to your parents. I got to see some pictures of you. Your mom let me look at your photo albums."

"Oh God."

"You were very cute as a baby. I see a lot of you in Ricky. When you compare pictures of you at the same age you are almost identical, except Ricky has curlier hair."

"I hope that isn't all you did while you were there."

"Well, pretty much. I left shortly after Ernesto arrived."

"Oh? Did he say something to you?"

"Sort of."

"What did he say?"

"It isn't important."

"Babe, tell me." He said. I could tell he was getting tense.

"It doesn't matter, Carlos. It was just words."

"Tell me. WHAT. DID. HE. SAY?"

"The usual. He called me a tramp and called Ricky a little bastard. He asked if you had the paternity test yet. He tried to convince your parents that I am trying to get to your money."

"That son of a. . . "

"Carlos, just let it be. He obviously doesn't like me. It doesn't matter."

"Babe, it does matter. No one should be treating you like that, especially a member of my own family."

"Look if it makes you feel better, I won't go to your parents' house until you get back. Your mother thinks Ernesto and Shantel are having marital problems. I guess Shantel kicks him out and he goes to your parents' to hang out. We think he doesn't like seeing you happy."

"Well then we won't go if he is going to be there."

"But then you are punishing the rest of your family."

"Babe, I will not let him continue to treat you in such a manner. Either he stays away or we will. End of discussion."

"O.K. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Babe. I will let you go so you can get some sleep. I will call you in the morning."

"O.K. I love you."

"Love you too, Babe."

**TBC** **Chapter 28 - BossWoman**


	28. Chapter 28

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 28  
****BossWoman**

The alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. I rolled over and shut it off. I knew Ranger was going to call any minute. I ate some crackers while I waited. Once the queasiness stopped, I quickly ran to the bathroom. I finished my business, washed my hands and splashed some water on my face. I ran back to the bed and settled down and ate a few more crackers. The phone rang. I answered it.

"Morning, Carlos."

"Babe. How are you this morning?"

"Fine. I was feeling queasy before, but I am eating crackers so the stomach has settled down."

"Did you sleep well?"

"I never sleep well when you are not here. But, I slept O.K. I woke up a few times. I was afraid I would sleep thru the alarm clock and miss your call."

"So are you going into work today?"

"Yeah, I thought I would get the files on the prospective clients and run the searches again. And get myself familiar with them for the meetings tomorrow."

"Don't over do it. I want you to get some rest. Go up to the apartment and take a nap this afternoon. You will probably be tired from not sleeping anyway."

"O.K."

"Who is going to watch Ricky?"

"I thought that Miranda could watch him. He can play in the sandbox, swing on the swing and splash in his pool."

"Sounds good to me. Give him a kiss from me."

"I will. What are your plans for today?"

"My plane for Atlanta leaves at 9:00 a.m. Call me if you have any questions on the clients. I will be in Atlanta until next Sunday. Then I will fly back down to Miami."

Just then a little voice came over the speaker of the baby monitor.

"The prince is awake. I have to go. Miss you, Babe."

"Miss you too. Have a safe flight. Call me when you get to Atlanta so I know you arrived safely. Love you."

"Love you too, Babe"

I hung up the phone and sighed. It has only been a day and already I ached for his arms to be around me. I got up and put on my robe and headed for the bedroom across the hall.

________________

We were already eating breakfast when Miranda arrived. I gave Ricky a sippy cup with his juice. I figure with the new baby on the way it was a good time to start to wean him from the bottle. He looked at it and then looked at me. He picked it up by the handles and put it up to his lips. When he discovered that there was juice inside he sucked on it contentedly.

"Good morning, Stephanie. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. I miss Carlos."

"He'll be back before you know it."

"Miranda, can you watch Ricky for me today? I know it is short notice. I don't know what you have planned for today."

"Certainly. That won't be a problem."

"I am starting to wean Ricky from the baby bottle. Only give him a bottle if he is extremely over tired and cranky. I think it is a security thing."

"No problem. Are you working all day?"

"I will probably be home early."

"Anything you would like for dinner? With Carlos gone I can make you something you like."

"I like just about everything you make. But I know what you meant. Let's see. What haven't I had for a while? How about greasy fried chicken. I know it is still chicken but it will still have the skin and won't be grilled."

"O.K. What else?"

"Mashed potatoes and gravy."

"O.K. Fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. What about dessert?"

"How about a chocolate cheesecake. I'll go back to eating healthy tomorrow."

Miranda smiled. "I'll take Ricky upstairs and give him his bath. Why don't you go and get ready for work?"

"Thanks. I'll lay out some clothes for Ricky."

I headed upstair to get ready for my day.

_______________

I stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor. "BossWoman on deck!" someone shouted.

I looked around. I didn't recognize the voice. I walked to Tank's office. He was on the phone when I knocked. He motioned me in and I sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Yeah, she just got here." He said to whomever he was talking to. My guess he was talking to Ranger. "I'll make sure of it. You want to talk to her?" I was right. "O.K. I'll tell her." He hung up. "Mornin' Bombshell. That was Ranger."

"I figured. What are you supposed to tell me."

"He'll call you when he gets to the Atlanta office. I am supposed to give you the files on the new clients. He said you are supposed to take it easy. He wants you to take nap later. He said you didn't sleep well last night." I rolled my eyes. If Tank only knew.

"I'm gonna use Carlos' office if that is O.K."

"Not a problem. Where's Ricky today?"

"I left him at home with Miranda."

"Oh I was hoping that we would get to babysit today."

"Maybe later in the week. If you give me the files, I'll get started on them. Anything that stands out as of now?"

"No they look pretty good. No problems that I could see. Let me know if you find anything or if you have any questions."

"O.K. Tank. Thanks." I got up and took the files he handed to me. I was walking down to Ranger's office. Lester came up to me.

"Hey, Bombshell, where's Ricky?"

"I left him at home."

"You what?"

"I left him at home with Miranda."

"Oh. Damn. I was hoping we would be babysitting today. Seeing that Ranger isn't here, we could goof off a little, but still say that we are working hard. What are you doing for lunch today?'

"I haven't decided. You want to go somewhere?"

"How about Shorty's?"

"I haven't been there in a while. Sounds good. Come and get me when you want to go."

"Sure thing."

I entered Ranger's office. I sat down at this desk. I looked around at his office. There was a 5x7 picture of the two of us on his desk along with a six-month picture of Ricky. I made a note to get Ricky in for his one year pictures. There was also a 5x7 picture of Julie. On the wall was an 11x14 picture of the three of us. A family picture minus Julie. Should have had a picture done with the four of us. Mental slap to the head. There was the water color picture of the ocean that Julie painted and gave to Ranger for his birthday. I booted up his computer to start the searches. I leaned back in his comfy chair as I waited. I closed my eyes letting the chair and the essence of Ranger surround me.

"Hey, Bombshell. Hey wake up."

I opened my eyes to see Lester standing next to me.

"Hey its time for lunch. You still want to go, don't you?"

"Yeah. Wow. I must have been really tired. I just closed my eyes for a second while I waited for the computer to boot up. How long did I sleep?"

"I don't know. It's 11:30 a.m. You got here about 9:00 a.m. So about two and half hours."

"Yeah, well I didn't sleep well last night. I usually don't when Carlos is gone. Crap and I wanted to get these searches done."

Just then my phone rang. It was Ranger.

"Yo."

"Hey, Babe. How are you?"

"Fine. Did you get to Atlanta O.K.?"

"Yeah. Everything going O.K. there?"

"Yeah. I was just about to go to lunch with the guys."

"O.K. Well I'll let you go then. I want you to take a nap when you get back."

"I can't. I just woke up from one. I need to get these searches done."

"Babe."

"Carlos. As soon as I am done with the searches I will go home. O.K.?"

"O.K. Fine. I'll call you tonight. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Let's go. I'm starving." I said to Lester. I stood up and grabbed my purse and we head for the elevator.

_______________

The afternoon wore on. Lunch at Shorty's was great. I didn't have Ranger there telling me I 'shouldn't be eating that', 'this isn't good for you'. No one knew I was pregnant so I could eat what I wanted, as much as I wanted.

We got back to RangeMan. Again a voice sounded "BossWoman on deck!"

I turned to Lester. "What the hell is that?"

"Uh, um. I don't know what you are talking about."

"That voice, the one saying 'BossWoman on deck'. What the hell is that and who is saying it?"

"It's nothing. I'll take care of it." He said as he scooted away.

I continued on to Ranger's office. I sat down and started the searches that I should have done that morning.

I finished the first search and started the other. I sat back and started to read the reports. Some thing caught my eye. It was a name. I knew I heard it recently but I couldn't place it. _William Jensen._ Where have I heard that name? _William Jensen, Will Jensen, Bill Jensen. _Then it dawned on me. Joe's informant. _Billy Jensen_. Is this the same guy? Why was he coming to RangeMan? I had all these questions and no answers.

As soon as the next search was done, I put in Billy Jensen's name and ran that. I read over the search I just ran. Everything looked fine with that one. _Billy Jensen _was still running. I ran the names Will Jensen, Bill Jensen and Willy Jensen just to be sure. My spidey-sense was tingling. This wasn't going to be good. When it was finally finished, I sat back to read it. Billy Jensen just wasn't an informant. He was married to the mob. Billy probably set Astiago up to get rid of him, so Billy Jensen could take over Astiago's operation. And the reason they couldn't find Jensen was he was hiding with the mob. I quickly made my way to Tank's office. I rapped on his door.

"Hey Bombshell. What's up?" He asked.

"I was going over the files for tomorrow and I re-ran the searches. The name Billy Jensen came up. He was an informant of Joe's that supposedly informed Astiago about Joe and the Feds."

"Yeah, and. . ."

"Well, I ran his name through a couple other search engines. Our prospective client William Jensen is Billy Jensen and Billy Jensen is married to Margo Cantonelli, of THE CANTONELLI'S."

"Shit."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I think he set that whole Astiago thing up."

"Astiago must have figured it out too. That is why he shot himself. He knew that his life was worth shit."

"So, what do we do now? We can't do business with the mob."

"Call Morelli. Have him contact his Fed connection and get them over here. I'll call Ranger and fill him in. Leave that report here."

I went back to Ranger's office and called Joe.

"Morelli."

"Hi Joe. It's Steph."

"Hi. What can I do for you? Or do I want to know."

"Well, your informant, Billy Jensen. He is coming here tomorrow for a meeting. He wants to hire RangeMan for some security work. The problem is, Billy Jensen is married to Margo Cantonelli."

"Holy crap. How come I didn't know about this?"

"I just discovered it. I was re-running a search for tomorrow. Tank asked me to call you and have you call the Feds and get them over here. Tank is calling Ranger."

"Where is Ranger?"

"He is in Atlanta to check on the office down there. He won't be back for a couple of weeks."

"He didn't run out on you, did he?" Joe said chuckling.

"Ha ha. No. He wanted to check on the Atlanta and Miami offices before we leave for our honeymoon."

"O.K. I'll try and get a hold of them. I didn't like how that ended with Astiago. I knew there had to be something more."

"Yeah, it did end sort of flat. Call me and let me know when you have talked to them. I'll let Tank know."

"O.K. Steph. Bye."

I went back to Tank's office to let him know. He was still on the phone with Ranger. He put the call on speakerphone.

"What did Morelli say?" Ranger asked.

"He said he was going to try and contact the Feds. He didn't like the way it ended with Astiago. He thought there had to be more. He was shocked when I told him his informant was married to the mob."

"Is he going to call you back?" Tank asked.

"Yeah."

"Babe, I don't want you in on that meeting tomorrow." Ranger said.

"What?"

"Babe, please. There is something going on here that I don't want you involved in. In fact I asked Tank to reschedule the other meetings set for tomorrow. I don't want you anywhere near RangeMan tomorrow. I want you to stay at home. I have a couple of the guys staying with you until we get a handle on this situation."

"But. . ."

"Babe, you need to worry about your safety and Ricky's safety. The best way to do that is to stay at home. You will be safe there. The new security system is in place. I'll have Hector check to make sure nothing has been penetrated. I'll have Hal and Bobby stay with you. We don't know what Jensen has planned for tomorrow. He could be using this as a way to get in the building. I don't want to risk anything happening to you. Please, will you do this for me?"

When he said it like that, how could I say no. "O.K. Carlos. I will stay home tomorrow."

I know that he was also thinking of the baby, but he didn't want to say anything out loud.

"Thank you, Babe. Oh, and Babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Good job on that research. I shudder to think what may have happened tomorrow if you hadn't caught that. Now we can somewhat be prepared. I knew you would be a valuable addition to the company and not just for your pretty face. And not because I love you. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you. I love you too."

Hal came to the door. "Yeah Hal, what is it?" Tank asked.

"Um, Morelli it downstairs with some Feds." Hal said hesitantly. He didn't know what was going on.

"O.K. Put them in Conference Room B. And get Bobby, Lester, Cal, Hector and Woody. And you too. We'll be there shortly." Tank said. "Ranger, I'm gonna put you on hold and then connect you to the conference room phone. We can all discuss this there."

"Fine. I'll be waiting."

Tank had me run copies of the report and then Tank and I headed down to the 2nd floor where the conference rooms were. Bobby, Lester and Hector were there. Woody and Cal followed us in. Hal came in with Joe and two of the Feds. One was Agent Nelson and I didn't know who the other one was.

Tank punched a button and Ranger was on the speakerphone. "Gentlemen. Sorry I can't be there in person."

"We have Morelli, Agent Nelson and. . ." Tank informed him.

"Agent Travis Lange." Agent Lange supplied.

"And Agent Lange." Tank continued. "As well as Bobby, Lester, Hal, Cal, Hector, Woody and Steph."

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice." Ranger said. "Stephanie has dug up some information that may or may not have some bearing on your Astiago case. Steph?"

Ranger handed over the meeting over to me. This was a first, but then he wasn't here. I stood up and passed the report that I copied to Tank. He then passed them onto Bobby and so on until everyone had a copy.

"Ranger, a copy has been faxed to you." I said.

"I got it, Steph." Ranger said.

"O.K. William Jensen a.k.a. Billy Jensen had contacted RangeMan. He is looking into security monitoring for his home and office building. Tank and I were to meet with him tomorrow. Ranger had asked me to run the searches again on the client and to see if anything was missed. When I saw the name, it rang a bell. And I remembered the informant of Joe's that gave information to Astiago about Joe's involvement with the Feds. It turns out that Billy Jensen is married to Margo Cantonelli of the Cantonelli Family."

"Shit. How did we miss that?" Agent Nelson said.

"He presented himself as a drug user. We didn't look any further as we didn't think that a drug user on the street would have mob connections other than thru a drug dealer." Agent Lange said.

"I looked a little further into Billy Jensen. He was into theater in high school and college and performed in little theater productions around the tri-state area. He and Margo met in college. She too performed in theater. But the family didn't want her to pursue it any further. So that is probably how he passed himself off as a druggie."

"He was convincing." Joe said.

"Astiago must have thought so too. Until he put things together." Tank said.

"Jensen became a member of the Family. He has been trying to work his way up the ladder. Having a father-in-law as a mob boss didn't guaranty he would have a top seat in the Family. He had to prove himself. That is what he did. He set up Astiago so the Cantonelli Family could move into his turf and his operation." I added.

"So what is tomorrow all about?" Agent Lange asked.

"We think he may be scoping things out in this building. My house's security was breached. Steph was used as bait for Morelli. All three of us, along with mine and Steph's son were used as target practice. Morelli was hit but didn't die. Jensen may be trying to get rid of loose ends." Ranger provided.

"What we would like is for you, Agent Nelson and Agent Lange to pretend to be RangeMan employees. You would need to wear black suits. I want you to sit in on the meeting. Steph was supposed to conduct the meeting on my behalf. But I have asked her not to come in to work tomorrow." Joe gave me a look with a raised eye brow. "Tank will conduct the meeting. I want you two to watch for any signs. If he comes with other men, we can somehow detain them in the lobby so that we can't be ambushed. I will have my men lock down the elevator so it can't be used except to go to the 2nd floor. I will have guards in the stairwells on each floor so the stairs can't be used to get access to the rest of the building. Hal and Bobby?"

"Yo" they both answered.

"You two will stay at the house with Steph and Ricky. Steph?" Ranger continued.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Ask Miranda to stay over night. There will be no one leaving or entering the premises."

"O.K."

"Hector?"

"Si" Hector answered.

"I need for you to check the security at the house. Check the perimeter for any breach. There shouldn't be, but I want to make sure. Last time we had no idea."

"I'm on it." Hector said.

"Lester, Cal and Woody."

"Yo." They said.

"I need you to alert the rest of the men. Call in any contract workers if need be. I want the security around the building raised. Like I said earlier I want two men on every floor and I want two men in the stairwell on every floor guarding the doors. That includes the garage. I want business as usual going on the 5th floor, so any alarms and break-in are still responded to. Ask Ella and Luis to either leave the building or stay in their apartment until we get this taken care of. This is to be treated as a covert operation. No loss of lives, especially innocents."

"You're not coming back for this?" Tank asked.

"No, I'll let you handle it. Go through the file with Steph. She might come up with some questions to ask that might throw him off. Remember he is a good actor."

"What if we set Steph up with video and sound from the meeting. Jensen won't be aware of it and she can let me know from any jesters, what she thinks."

"That is a very good idea. Hector. Set that up. Have it so she can see and hear what is going on but that only Tank can hear her through an ear piece."

The meeting ended some time later. Everyone fanned out to their respective assignment. Hal and Bobby drove me home. Hector followed in his own vehicle. Hector toured the property and reported that everything was secure. I spoke with Miranda and asked her to stay the night. She agreed and went to call her husband and let him know that she would not be home and not to worry. She went to make up the guest room for the guys. They would be taking turns keeping guard. Miranda had her own room in case of emergencies. It was going to be a long night and a very tense morning.

**TBC Chapter 29 - Jensen Meeting**


	29. Chapter 29

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 29  
****Jensen Meeting**

I put Ricky to bed and got myself ready for bed myself. I knew Ranger would be calling.

I just got myself situated in bed with the pillows fluffed up behind me when my cell phone rang with the Batman theme.

"Yo."

"Yo, Babe. How are you?"

"I'm missing you, but other than that I am doing fine." I said.

"Babe, I miss you and Ricky too." He said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I said not sure where this was going to go.

"Why did you agree to stay home tomorrow when Billy Jensen comes for the meeting?"

"You asked me too."

"Babe? I've asked you to do a lot of other things and you would fight me on them. Why is this different?"

"No. Other times you _told_ me or you _demanded _or you _suggested_. You didn't ask. You also said 'please'. And I have Ricky to think about now. And the baby. And you aren't rushing back up here to handle it yourself, so you are taking care not to get hurt too." I finished softly.

"Babe."

"So, what happens after tomorrow? I am I going to be able to leave the house?"

"I don't know yet. Depends on what happens tomorrow. If it looks like he is just looking for a security company, then yes. But if he is trying to get information about the company or about us then probably no."

"Great. How are things down in Atlanta?"

"Things are going well. I've done a few employment reviews. Checked on a few accounts. Things are moving along. How is Ricky?"

"He is good. I think he is going to be walking soon. He tried a few steps but that is only in between furniture. He still is holding onto things. But he may take the first steps to independence soon. I wish you were here to see it happen."

"I know Babe. But the time just isn't right. Maybe I will be there for the next one."

I smiled at the thought. And put my hand on my belly. I yawned just then.

"Babe, I will let you go so you can get some sleep."

"You know I don't sleep well without you."

"I know, but you are obviously tired. Get some rest. I'll talk to you in the morning like usual. I love you."

"I love you, too. Talk to you tomorrow." I sent a kiss over the phone. I heard Ranger chuckle and then he hung up. I situated myself in the bed. I took Ranger's pillow and hugged it and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

__________________

Ranger and I talked in the morning. We discussed what may happen at the meeting as well as what needed to be done for the wedding. We ended our talk when Ricky announced he was hungry.

Bobby was downstairs already when I came down with Ricky. Miranda was making breakfast.

"Morning Bobby. Is everything O.K.? Where's Hal?" I asked.

"Morning Steph. Everything is good. Hal is checking the perimeter."

"Morning Miranda. Ooh. French Toast. I am starving."

"Morning Stephanie. Ricky. I thought French Toast would be nice for Ricky. I can cut them into strips for him."

"That would be nice. I think I will strip him down to his diaper. Then I can just put him in the bathtub after he is done." I said. I removed Ricky's pajamas and put him in the high chair. I got him some juice in a sippy cup. Hal walked in.

"Morning Hal. Everything O.K.?" I asked.

"Yep. You can let control know." He said talking to Bobby. Bobby was on the phone with RangeMan.

"O.K. I'll let her know." Bobby said as he hung up.

"Hector will be here shortly to get everything set up for the meeting. I don't think it is a good idea to be outside today. Granted we have the new security in place but that isn't going to help if there is a sharp shooter out there."

"Can one of you bring in Ricky's slide and swing. We can put it in the family room. He really likes that. I don't want the sandbox in or the pool."

"Ool." Ricky said.

"Not today, Sweety. No pool."

We all sat down and ate French Toast with bacon and sausage. As predicted Ricky was a sticky mess. I took him upstairs and put him in the tub. I got him cleaned up. Miranda came upstairs with a load of towels. She took Ricky back down with her as I jumped in the shower. I got dressed and decided there was no need to do anything with my hair so I just left it to dry. I went downstairs just as Hector was finishing up the hook up.

"Hola, Hector. Como esta usted?" I asked trying out my Spanish.

"Bueno, Estefani. Bueno. I have everything hooked up. You should be all set. This is the speaker. Everyone can hear meeting. This is microphone. Only Tank will hear you. You can control camera with this." He showed me what to push on keyboard to zoom camera in and out and turn from side to side.

"Is Ranger going to be watching in Atlanta?"

"Si."

The phone rang then. Bobby answered. He nodded a few times and disconnected. "Looks like the meeting is just about to start. Feds are there. And Jensen just entered the lobby with six of his goons."

Hector hit a couple of buttons and the lobby came on the screen. We all sat down at the dining room table. Miranda took Ricky to the family room to play so he wouldn't interfere.

We watched what was happening in the lobby.

_**Jensen was preceded by two men. Then he came in followed by four others. Lester was in the lobby. Jensen was dressed in a very expensive suit. Tailor made by the looks of it. Silk shirt and tie. He carried himself well. Hair just cut and styled. **_

"_**Excuse me, but you all can't come upstairs."**__**Lester announced.**_

"_**These are my body guards." Jensen said, pointing a few of the men. "And these are**__**my assistants." He said pointing to two other men.**_

"_**I am sorry. But only you and one other person can come in." Lester said.**_

"_**Can't the rest of my men wait in the cafeteria?" Jensen asked.**_

"_**Sorry. This is a secure building. No unauthorized people can be in here. We can't have people roaming around." Lester said.**_

"_**Very well." Jensen said. He motioned to a few of them and they left the building. It was just Jensen and the guy he said was his assistant.**_

_**Lester called upstairs. "Someone will be down to escort you to the conference room."**_

_**The elevator opened and Vince stepped out and motioned for the two men to get in the elevator. He gave Lester some hand signal and joined the men in the elevator. Lester got up and walked to the door to see where the other five men went. He locked the door and went to sit back down at the desk. He gave the impression that he was just idling away the time. But he was on full alert. **_

Hector pushed a few more bottons and the hallway by the elevators came on the screen. We watched as Vince escorted the men down the hall to the conference room. You could see someone standing at the stairwell door. I couldn't make out who it was.

"Contract worker." Bobby said.

O.K. that explains why I didn't recognize him. Hector pressed some more buttons and the conference room came up.

"Bobby, what happens if Jensen recognizes the FBI Agent that will come in with Tank?"

"We'll deal with the situation if the time comes." Bobby answered.

_**Vince was just telling them that someone would be with them shortly. He left the room but I am sure he didn't go far from the door.**_

_**Tank entered followed by Agent Nelson. "Hello." Tank said as he came to shake the other men's hands. "Welcome to RangeMan. Please have a seat gentlemen. I'm Mr. Dupree. This is Mr. Johnson." Tank said indicating Agent Nelson. "I understand you would like RangeMan to provide security for your home and office building."**_

"_**Excuse me. But I thought I would be meeting with Mr. Manoso." Jensen said.**_

"_**Mr. Manoso was called away on business. You can discuss this with me. I am in charge when Mr. Manoso is away."**_

"_**What about his lovely woman? Ms. Plum isn't it? Or did she go away on business with him?"**_

"_**Ms. Plum is unavailable." Agent Nelson said.**_

Why did he want to see me? I have only done a few meetings with clients. Granted I was going to meet with him today, but he didn't know that.

"_**That's too bad. They have a son together, don't they? I hope nothing happened to their little boy. Maybe I can reschedule when they are both available." Jensen said.**_

I didn't like it that he mentioned Ricky.

"_**I don't know when that can be arranged. They are pretty busy people." Agent Nelson said.**_

"_**Ah, yes. They are getting married soon."**_

How did he know about the wedding? It hasn't been published anywhere. Of course if he had Burg connections he could have found out through the Burg grapevine.

_**Jensen suddenly reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Tank and Agent Nelson reached for their guns. "Excuse me, gentlemen." Jensen said as he pointed to his phone. He got up from the table and opened his phone. He walked to the corner facing away from Tank and Agent Nelson and talked briefly and put the phone back in his pocket**_**.**

I turned to Bobby. "I don't think he got a call, I think he made a call. To one of his goons."

"I think so too." Bobby said. He got up and made a call. Probably Lester. I turned back to the meeting.

"_**Sorry for the interruption. I'm sorry that I won't be able to meet with Mr. Manoso or Ms. Plum. I was so looking forward to it. Well, then can I get a tour of company? I would like to know if I will be getting my money's worth if I do decide to use your company for the security I need?"**_

"_**I am sorry, but we can't do that. This is a security business. We pride ourselves with keeping the identity of our clients confidential. It wouldn't be good business practice to have people walking around seeing other people's homes and business being monitored.**_

Bobby came back to the table. "Lester said that a car pulled out from across the street. He could make out two men. I told him about the phone call from Jensen. He gets the same feeling and we do, that Jensen is sending someone out here to check on things. Lester is having a few of the guys head out here too." Hal got up and headed over to check the control panel for the front gate.

"_**Did you hear that Tank?" I said. We saw Tank nod his head on the monitor.**_

O.K. so we know that Jensen wanted to meet with Ranger and me. He know about Ricky, not a good thing. He knows about our up coming marriage. And he is sending some goons to check things out here. Is Jensen trying to locate us?

Just then my phone rang with the Batman theme. "Yo."

"Babe, is everything O.K. there?"

"Yeah. We don't think Jensen received a call. We think he made a call to one of his goons. Lester confirmed that a car left about the same time with two guys. Hal is monitoring the control panel for any surprise visitors. And Lester is having some more men sent out here."

"I got the same feeling. Glad to know you are on your toes. Proud of you. Jensen wants both of us for something."

"We have been in this mess from the beginning. I think he is tying up loose ends. I don't think he is done yet with Joe either. And I don't like that he knows about Ricky."

"I got the same feeling. Call Morelli when the meeting is done and inform him. I was afraid something like this would happen. One of the reasons I didn't want a family. But we can't go back. We just need to be alert. Keep Ricky inside."

"Already done. I had the guys bring in his swingalong."

"I'm glad you are taking precautions. Talk to you soon. Love you." And he hung up.

I turned back to the meeting.

_**Tank was explaining some of the package options and prices that RangeMan offers.**_

We all knew Jensen was on a fishing expedition to obtain information about Ranger and me and RangeMan.

"A car just drove by the entrance real slow." Hal said.

Bobby got on the phone again.

"_**We have company." I said to Tank. Again Tank gave a nod that he heard.**_

Bobby came back. "Lester says that there are a couple of our guys in a red pickup truck parked near the driveway on the street. They are pretending to have engine problems and are looking under the hood. Another couple of guys in a white car pretending to be looking for an address. Driving up and down the street."

_**Back at the meeting, Jensen was standing up. "Well, gentlemen. It has been a pleasure to speak with you. I will call and hopefully set up a time to meet with Mr. Manoso and Ms. Plum. Hopefully, I will be able to meet with one or both of them soon."**_

"Do you think he suspects that we have been monitoring the meeting?" I asked Bobby.

"Maybe. Depends on how much he knows about security."

"Bobby? Do you think it would be O.K. if Ricky and I go and stay at the apartment? I think I would feel better knowing there are more people around. I feel a little isolated out here. And then this way there can be more guys at one location."

"I think that can be arranged. I would still keep a few guys here just in case. We would probably sneak you and Ricky out. That way if they are watching they will think you are still here."

I quickly phoned Ranger. "Yo. Everything O.K., Babe?"

"Yeah, so far so good. I talked with Bobby. Ricky and I are going to move back into the apartment. I feel isolated out here and I am not afraid to say I'm scared."

"Babe."

"Maybe if you were here I would be fine. But the thought that they know where we live has me on edge. I'm not sleeping as it is. I would just feel more secure knowing there is a building full of guys to protect me."

"I'm glad to know that you feel secure enough with just me if I was there, but you need a building full of men when I'm not there. Let me talk to Bobby."

"Bobby, Ranger wants to speak to you. I'm going to start packing some stuff for Ricky and me." I handed Bobby my phone and went upstairs.

**TBC Chapter 30 - Back At RangeMan**


	30. Chapter 30

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 30  
****Back At RangeMan**

To leave the house took a major undertaking. There were various vehicles coming and going. Some of the vehicles that left had suitcases and things for Ricky packed in them.

The car that drove past the house slowly hadn't reappeared, but that didn't mean that other cars that came past weren't checking things out. For being a fairly isolated road, it sure was getting a lot of traffic.

One of the RangeMan vehicles that came, pulled into the garage. Ricky and I were loaded in a different vehicle that was already in the garage. We were told to lie down on the floor. Once we were clear and no one was following us, then I could strap Ricky into his car seat. I don't know what would happen to both of us if we ended up in a car chase.

We got to RangeMan and entered the garage. Merry Men came out of the woodwork and surrounded the SUV as Ricky and I got out of the vehicle and we were swiftly escorted to the elevator. I don't think I ever seen that many Merry Men in one place. There were men I don't think I ever met.

As the elevator ascended to the 7th floor, it made stops on the 4th floor and 5th floor. Men got out on those floors, so it was only Bobby, Tank, Ricky and me left as we continued on to the 7th floor. We entered the apartment and Ella was there waiting for us. She gave me a hug and took Ricky from me. She had already unpacked our stuff. The living room was rearranged to accommodate the things I packed for Ricky. There was his slide and swing, along with more toys. The bedroom had a new bed for Ricky. He was getting too big for the portable crib. It was low to the ground with railings to prevent him from falling out. I was still a little frazzled by the evasive maneuvers that was used to get us from the house to the RangeMan building. I kept thinking that I was over reacting, but Ranger always told me to go with my instincts and my spidey-sense was saying to 'get out'. I was starting to calm down. This apartment always had that affect on me. My cellphone rang. I knew from the ringtone who it was.

"Yo."

"Babe. Are you all settled in the apartment?"

"Yes. Ricky and I are safe and secure."

"Good. I wish I could get back there, but I want to get these reviews and audits done. I feel better knowing you are at RangeMan too. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. I hope maybe I can sleep better being here."

"Babe, I want you to take it easy. Don't over do it. Ella is there to take care of Ricky. Make sure the men take care of you. If you need anything let them know."

"I know. I miss you."

"Miss you too, Babe. I'll call you tonight like usual."

"I'll be waiting. Love you."

"Love you too."

Ella made us a delicious dinner with dessert. I will probably gain weight because of that, so I told her that if she keeps doing that I won't fit in my wedding dress. We still weren't telling anyone about the baby.

I laid in bed waiting for Ranger to call. I rubbed my belly gently and spoke to the baby quietly. Ricky was sound asleep in his new bed. The Batman theme sounded and I picked up my phone.

"Hi" I said softly.

"Babe. Are you O.K.? I hope all this isn't stressing you out. Stress isn't good for you or the baby."

"I know. I am trying really hard not to get too frazzled. But all this on top of finalizing the wedding plans. I hope we can do something and take Jensen out before the wedding. I'm afraid of what might happen if he finds out where it is being held."

"It is a good thing that we are getting married outside Trenton. I will have more men on hand if we don't get him before the wedding."

"I wish you were here."

"I know Babe. But the sooner I get this taken care of the sooner I will be back. Then I won't be leaving your side, at least not until the baby is born."

"I was talking to the baby before you called."

"Oh? And what were to telling him or her."

"I was telling her about her daddy."

"Her?"

"Yeah, I think it is going to be a girl. I would do that with Ricky. I would lie in bed and rub my belly and talk to the baby. Mostly it was about you, because you weren't there. I told Ricky what a wonderful man you are. How you are caring and loyal, and loving. How surprised you were going to be when you come home find out that I am pregnant. And then later after Ricky was born, find out you have a son."

"Babe."

We talked some more. About Jensen, the wedding, the baby. Soon I was yawning, so Ranger said good night and that he will call in the morning. I placed the phone on the night stand and snuggled down hugging Ranger's pillow. I slept better than I had on previous nights but not soundly. Soon it was time to get up and start a new day.

_______________

It was a couple of days since we moved to RangeMan. Security was still tight in the building, but we managed to work as usual. Tank and I met with a client that needed security for a charity event. The event was being held to raise money for victims domestic violence. There was to be a well-known celebrity scheduled to attend. They needed security to escort the celebrity from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the place where the event was to take place. And then back to the hotel and eventually to the airport again. The celebrity was Jessica Mason, whose new movie was just released where she plays a victim of domestic violence.

I asked the promoter if they needed a woman to be part of the security detail. She said she would get back to me. I told her that I would be willing to do it. I didn't say anything to her about being pregnant. I knew that Ranger probably wouldn't let me do it.

We also met with the promoter for the music festival next summer. They said they were taking bids for security of the stage where the main acts were to perform. They would have their own security patrolling the seating area and doing crowd control. These security personnel consisted of police, and other security professionals. They needed back stage security. Tank and I told him we would work something up and email to him by the end of the week.

_______________

I was doing some searches at my desk, when I suddenly didn't feel very good. I didn't remember feeling like this when I was pregnant with Ricky, but they say every pregnancy was different. I went to Tank's office to tell him I was calling it a day. I knocked on the door.

"Enter." Tank growled.

"Hey, Tank."

"Bombshell. Is something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to tell you that I am calling it a day. I'm feeling kinda tired and I want to lie down for a while."

"You shirking your responsibilities with the boss being gone?"

"No, well, not exactly. It's just I haven't slept well since Ranger has been gone. Although I have slept better since being here. I'm still feeling the effects of the lack of sleep."

"O.K. Steph. Call if you need anything."

"Thanks. See you tomorrow."

I stopped on the 6th floor to see Ella. I knocked on her apartment door.

"Stephanie! Are you checking on Rick? He just went down for a nap."

"Oh, well that's fine. I was just heading up to the 7th floor to take a nap myself. I haven't been sleeping well, since Carlos left. It is sort of catching up to me. I was hoping you could keep Ricky for a while. I'll come and get him later."

"That's fine. Call me when you wake up and let me know what you would like of dinner. I can bring Ricky up then."

"O.K. Thanks."

I went up to the 7th floor. Stripped off my RangeMan uniform and crawled into bed. I slept for a little while when I felt sharp pains. They started to get stronger and more intense. I sat up and noticed blood on the sheet.

"OH MY GOD!" I called out.

I got up and grabbed my phone as I headed for the bathroom. I quickly called Tank.

"Yo."

"TANK!"

"Steph? What's wrong?" Tank said suddenly on alert.

"I n-need yo-u-u and Bob-by up here r-r-ight aw-ay." I sobbed.

"Be right there."

Tank and Bobby rushed into the apartment. They saw the blood on the bed.

"STEPH?" they both yelled.

"I'm in t-t-he bath-room."

"Steph? What's wrong?" Bobby asked.

"I-I-I th-think I'm h-having a m-mis-car-riage." I sobbed.

Bobby pulled out his phone. "Lester I need you to get an SUV ready. We need to get Steph to the hospital. I'll explain later." He dialed again. "Ella. We think Steph is having a miscarriage. Can you take care of Ricky? Good. I'll call you later when we know more."

While Bobby was making his calls. Tank was at the bathroom door.

"Steph? Does Ranger know?"

"About t-t-he ba-by? Y-e-s. I to-ld h-him be-fore h-he le-ft."

"O.K. Do you want me to call him?"

"I do-n't w-w-want h-him to wor-ry a-bout m-me."

"Steph, he'd want to know."

"O.K. B-but h-he does-n't h-ha-ve to c-c-come h-h-home."

Tank looked at Bobby and gave him a nod. Bobby dialed his phone again.

"Boss. Steph is having a miscarriage. We are taking her to the hospital now. She said that she doesn't want you to worry about her and that you don't have to come home. O.K. got it. We'll have someone at the airport." He turned to Tank. "He'll be on the first plane he can get. He'll call. Told him we'll have someone at the airport."

Tank nodded. "Steph? We should get to the hospital."

I opened the door. I looked a wreck but I didn't care. I had on an old pair of sweats and the t-shirt of Ranger's that I always wore to bed. I grabbed a hoodie. Tank picked me up and carried me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. Bobby got the door. We got on the elevator. We went straight down to the garage without stopping. Lester had the SUV running and was waiting for us. Tank set me on the seat in back and ran around to the other side. Bobby hopped up next to Lester. Lester exited the garage. Tank put his arm around me and I leaned against him. Tears were still pour down my face. I wasn't in any pain any more. I was just crying at the loss. A part of Ranger and me was gone. I heard Bobby and Lester talking in hushed tones. I couldn't hear what was being said and I really didn't care.

________________

**Ranger POV**

I hung up from talking to Bobby. I couldn't believe what was happening. Our child was gone and I wasn't there to comfort my Babe. Again, I wasn't there when she needed me most. She said I shouldn't worry and that I didn't have to come home. But I will be damn if I was going to let work interfere with my obligation to my family. I opened my phone to get the first flight back to Trenton. My Babe needed me and I was going to be there to hold her and comfort her like I should.

_______________

**Steph's POV**

We pulled up to the ER entrance. Tank got out and ran around as Bobby hopped out and opened my door. Tank scooped me up again and carried me inside. Bobby ran up to the desk. He called to let them know we were coming. The nurse immediately took us to a room and called up to Maternity for a doctor. She asked who my doctor was. I told her Dr. Dobbs. She put a call into her. Another nurse came in and asked Tank and Bobby to leave. They refused at first until the nurse explained that they could come back after she had me changed into a gown and took my vitals.

When the nurse, who said her name was Darlene, said they could come in, Lester was with them. They all had solemn faces. Even Lester wasn't trying to cheer me up.

The doctor came in and checked my chart. He asked some questions, like how far along I was, if I had miscarriages in the past, if one of the men in the room was the father. When I explained that the father was out of town on business. He asked the guys to leave again. He performed the examination. He ordered an ultrasound. When the tests came back, he confirmed that I had a miscarriage and that it had been completed. He said that I didn't need a D&C.

They moved me upstairs to the Maternity Ward. Dr. Dobbs had arrived and was waiting for me. She remembered Bobby from when Ricky was born.

"How are you feeling Stephanie?" She asked.

"Tired. Empty. Sad. Guilty. I can't stop crying." I sobbed.

"Those are normal feelings. Is Carlos here?" She asked.

I shook my head. "He is away on business." Tank said.

"Is it the same as last time he was gone?"

"No, he is only checking his other offices. He will only be gone for two weeks." Tank responded for me.

"I see. Aren't you going to be married soon?" She asked turning back to me.

"Yeah, in about a month." I choked out.

"I think you should be able to have sex on your honeymoon. I wouldn't advise it before then." She said. I nodded my head. "Would you like me to explain everything to you?" She asked. I nodded again not trusting my voice.

"You have had a complete miscarriage. What that means everything has been expelled from your uterus. You will be experiencing bleeding for a couple of weeks. There wasn't anything that we could have done to stop this from happening. So don't beat yourself up because you didn't get here in time. I want you to know that 20% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage. It doesn't mean that you can't have a normal pregnancy after this. When you get back from your honeymoon, we will run some tests to make sure there isn't anything physically wrong. If you should have another miscarriage, I would like to do a chromosome screening on both you and Carlos to rule out any defects in your chromosome make-up. But we will worry about that when the time comes. I would like to keep you here overnight. Are these gentlemen going to be staying with you like last time?"

"Yes, I think so." I was finally able to respond.

"Any questions Steph? Gentlemen?" She asked. I shook my head and so did the Merry Men. "Try and get some rest. I'll be by in the morning to check on you and then I will let you go home. I am sure Ricky is wondering where his mommy is. I want you to take it easy when you do go home. No heavy lifting. You should be fine in time for your wedding. If the bleeding gets heavy or if it starts up again after it has stopped, call my office immediately."

"Thank you, Doctor." I said. She made some notes in the chart and left. I looked at the guys. "Sorry. I know that talking about my female problems probably made you all uncomfortable."

"Hey. It's O.K. Just as long as you are going to be all right. We strong men can squirm a little bit." Lester said. I can always count on him to make me smile.

"You guys don't have to stay. I will be fine."

"Ranger would have our hides if we left you here all alone. You still have Jensen out there. We still don't know what his plan is." Tank said.

"I sorta forgot about him." I said.

"Steph, you had other things to worry about. We will be outside so you can get some rest." Bobby said.

Just then the door opened and my Mom stormed in followed by my Dad. "Stephanie! What happened! They said you had a miscarriage! I said that is nonsense. She's not pregnant." My mom started in.

"Mom."

"Yet here you are. You got pregnant again?"

"Mom!"

"How could you do that again?" Helen asked.

"Mrs. Plum!" Bobby tried to cut in.

"For God's sake, Helen! Leave Stephanie alone!" My dad finally got her to shut up.

"Thank you, Daddy." I said. "Yes Mom, I was pregnant again." I put my hand up to stop her from ranting again. "We just found out. Carlos and I were going to keep it quiet until after the wedding. I knew you would react this way and I was hoping that after I was married you would accept it and not act like it was a personal sin against you. Yes Mom, Carlos and I have sex. Well, we make love. And even though I'm using birth control, it happened again. Just like last time." I wasn't going to tell her that Ranger has super sperm and can get through any form of birth control. "I didn't go out looking to get pregnant. I was taking precautions."

"Except refraining from sleeping with a man." Helen said.

"That's right Mom. I slept with a man. I slept with Joe and I slept with Carlos. And yes, Mom, Joe and I had sex too. But I didn't get pregnant by him. And I am not pregnant now. I lost my baby. Carlos' baby." I started crying again. "So, if you are going to stand there and c-c-crucify me for getting p-pregnant without the benefit of m-m-marriage, even though I am getting m-m-married in less than a month, then get out!" I started sobbing again. My mom just stood there. Tank, Bobby and Lester just stood there with their jaws to the floor. Then Tank and Lester smiled. Bobby came over to me and put his arms around me to comfort me.

"Helen, I think we should go now. Stephanie has been through a traumatic experience today. She needs to rest. She doesn't need you harping on her. That was our grandchild she lost today." Frank said.

"Oh My God!" Helen said. "Our grandchild! Oh Stephanie! I am so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking. Please forgive me for my outburst. I can't imagine what you are going through. I guess I was so shocked to learn you were pregnant and you didn't tell me."

"Come on, Helen. We can come back tomorrow." Frank said. He came over and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "I'm so sorry, Pumpkin. Call if you need anything. I love you."

"Th-thank y-you, Dad-dy." I sobbed.

"Stephanie will be discharged tomorrow. She and Ricky have moved back to RangeMan until Ranger gets back. You can contact her there." Tank told my dad. My dad nodded.

"Stephanie. I feel like an idiot. How cruel could I be? I shouldn't have said what I did to you. I'm so sorry, Sweety. I mean not about what I said. Well, I am sorry I said what I did, but about the baby. I mean. Oh shit. I don't know what I am saying anymore."

Everyone's eyes got big at what my mom just said. Helen Plum did not say 'shit'. She also was never tongue tied and at a loss for words like she was. She was always more concerned with how she looked in the eyes of the 'Burg'. How everything that happened to her family was a reflection on her. When she realized that it was her grandchild that was lost. She managed to make it about her and her loss. Even if that wasn't her intent, that is how it came across. It was her loss.

"Come on, Helen. Let's go." My dad said. He took her arm and they walked out of the room.

We all looked at each other. Of course I was still crying. God, when were the tears going to stop. I felt like I had been crying forever.

"Damn, Bombshell. I don't know what came over you, but you sure let your mom have it." Lester said.

"Hormones." I said.

"It's about time you stood up to her. I've seen her go after you a few times now. And this had to be the first time I saw you stand your ground." Tank said.

"Thanks. I think." I said.

"We should leave and let you get some rest." Bobby said giving me a kiss on the top of my head. "We will be right outside your door."

"Thanks guys. I am sorry I had to put you through all this."

"Steph. We're the ones who are sorry. We're sorry that Ranger isn't here for you. We're sorry for both of you for your loss. Try and get some sleep." Tank said giving me a kiss on the head and a hug.

"I'm sorry too, Steph. See you in the morning." Lester said giving me a squeeze and kiss on the cheek.

They walked out of the room turning down the lights in the room as they left. I turned on my side and hugged the extra pillow. It wasn't Ranger's pillow but it would have to do. I started crying again.

**TBC Chapter 31 - Car Chases and Explosions**

**NOTE: **Again, I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I don't pretend to know all the procedures involved. The info I got about miscarriages and testing I got from the internet.


	31. Chapter 31

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 31  
****Car Chases and Explosions**

I felt the bed dip as a body slipped into the bed. I turned around.

"Carlos?" I whispered.

"Yeah, Babe. I'm here." He said as he took me in his arms.

"Oh, Carlos! I'm so sorry! I lost our baby!" I sobbed.

"Shhh. Shhh. It's not your fault. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you." He said as he rubbed my back.

"You couldn't h-have s-stop-ped it." I said through the tears.

"I know. But I could have been here so you didn't have to experience it alone. Again, you had to endure something that I was responsible for."

"Carlos, are you O.K. with it?"

"Of course not. I am sad that we lost our baby. And if it turns out that Ricky is the only child we have together, then that is fine."

"Oh Carlos. I feel so empty. I was looking forward to this baby."

"I know Babe. I was looking forward to it too." He said. "Now, shhh, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'm here. I love you, Babe." He kissed me on my forehead.

"I love you too, Carlos." I said as I closed my eyes. I felt safe and secure wrapped in Ranger's arms. We may have lost our baby. But our love was still there and it will help us deal with our loss.

________________

It was morning. The sun was streaming into the room. I opened my eyes not knowing where I was. The sun doesn't shine through the bedroom windows at home or at Rangeman in the morning. I looked around and realized that this was the hospital room. Ranger wasn't there. I must have dreamed that he had come home last night. Then I remember why I was in the hospital and a wave of sorrow and anguish washed over me. Our baby. Our baby was gone.

I sat up and was swinging my legs over the edge of the bed to go to the bathroom, when the bathroom door opened and Ranger stepped out. He smiled at me.

"Morning Babe. How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Morning Carlos. I didn't know if you were actually here or if I dreamed it. But I slept well. Like I usually do when you hold me."

He walked over to me and gave me a sweet and loving kiss. "How are you today?" He asked softly.

"Sad. Empty." I said as tears trickled down my cheeks. He brushed them away with his thumb as he cupped my face. He kissed me again.

"It's going to be all right, Babe. I love you. Nothing will ever change that." He whispered.

"I love you too." I whispered back. We just stood there with our foreheads touching. He was caressing my face and I had my hands on his waist. There was a knock on the door and the door opened. Dr. Dobbs was there.

"Good morning Stephanie. Carlos it is good to see you again."

"Doctor." He said as he nodded.

"How are you this morning, Steph?" Dr. Dobbs asked.

"Better. Now that Carlos is here. I still feel sad, empty, guilty."

"Babe, I told you it wasn't your fault."

"I can't help it. I still feel like there was something I did that caused this to happen."

"Stephanie, I explained to you that 20% of all pregnancies end with a miscarriage. Sometimes women don't even know they are pregnant. Until we run some tests, we won't know if there is something wrong with you physically."

"Test?" Ranger asked.

"Yes, I explained to Stephanie that after you get back from your honeymoon, I would like to do some tests just to rule out anything that maybe physically wrong."

"What type of things?" Ranger asked concerned. He was holding my hand as I sat on the bed.

"Well, we ruled out any infection in the uterus. We tested some samples and they came back negative. I also know that Stephanie doesn't have any fibroid tumors in her uterus which may cause a miscarriage. We would look for any collagen vascular diseases, such as lupus or any of the other disease where her immune system would attack her own organs. We would do a blood test to check for abnormal antibodies in her systems. We would also screen her for any hormonal factors, such as thyroid disease. If she should have more miscarriages then I would have both of you tested for any chromosome defects."

"Would working cause a miscarriage?" He asked. I just looked at him. He can't be serious. He is not going to ask me to stop working.

"It would depend on the job. But I would have to say no. I know Steph gave up on the bounty hunting when she became pregnant with Ricky and I know she hasn't gone back to doing that."

"What about stress?" He asked.

"Possibly. Have you been under a lot of stress?" She asked looking at me.

"Yes, she has. She has been dealing with the last minute preparations for the wedding. She has been filling in for me at work while I am checking out my other offices." Did I hear some guilt in his voice that he left me to deal with all this while he was gone? "And we have been dealing with a person who we think wants to harm us. We think he was responsible, either directly or indirectly, for her ex-boyfriend to be shot. He came to my place of business saying he wanted to hire my company. He made some comments about us and our son." He finished.

"Well, I can't say for sure. I told Steph yesterday that she can have a completely normal pregnancy the next time. There is no need for alarm. I am sure that nothing is wrong. It's just one of those things that happen. If the embryo isn't developing correctly, the body will stop the process. The reproductive system is an ingenious wonder but it isn't perfect. Things go wrong. But I don't want you two to dwell on it. You both should concentrate on your upcoming wedding. I told Steph that you should refrain from having sex until your wedding night. If there are no further questions I'll have a nurse bring in your discharge papers."

"Is there anything I need to watch for while she is recuperating?" Ranger asked.

"Just make sure she takes it easy. No heavy lifting. If the bleeding gets heavy or starts back up after it has stopped, call me."

"Should she make a follow-up appointment?"

"Yes, I think I should see her before your wedding. I know the days leading up to the wedding can be hectic but if you could schedule an appointment sometime that week. That would be good. Just to make sure you are doing O.K. Both physically and emotionally. I know this has been devastating to both of you. And sometimes a miscarriage can cause you to be depressed. I don't want that to become a problem. But I don't want to put you on antidepressants just yet. Let's see how things go. Let you work through the emotions that are normal when dealing with this situation. You are going to be feeling highs and lows. Don't get upset with her if she is crying at a drop of a hat or screaming at you. And don't you," She looked at me. "Get upset with him if gets quiet and distant." I rolled my eyes at that. Quiet and distant, that is normal behavior for Ranger. "You both need to handle your emotions your own way. But you can get through this, but talk to each other. Let the other one know how you feel. Don't keep it locked up inside forever. And don't blame each other."

"Thank you, Doctor." Ranger said.

"I'll get the nurse. Enjoy your honeymoon. And who knows, you may come back and be pregnant again."

"Thank you, Dr. Dobbs." I said. Ranger gave me a hug and a kiss on the lips again. Then I jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom before I peed on myself.

________________

The nurse came in with the papers. I signed them. Ranger had some clothes delivered and I changed into them. I decided to wait until I got home to shower, but I did brush my teeth and washed my face and tried to comb my mess of hair. An aide brought in a wheelchair. Ranger took control of it. We left the room. Tank and Bobby were still there outside waiting for us. Lester ran ahead to get the SUV. We got to the door just as the SUV pulled up. Ranger helped me up into the back seat. Bobby got in the back too. Tank got in the front. We pulled out of the hospital parking lot and shots rang out.

"Get down!" Ranger shouted to me. He undid my seat belt and pushed me to the floor. I got down the best I could. Ranger and Bobby were looking to see if they could spot the shooter. They had their guns drawn. Tank was on the phone. Lester was speeding along trying to get distance from the shooter. We raced down Hamilton and I remember what happened to Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed. They weren't wearing seat belts either.

Another shot rang out and the rear window shattered. I screamed. Ranger was asking if everyone was all right. When he got confirmation that everyone was O.K. he pulled his phone out and made a call. He was slouched down as was Bobby to avoid being hit. Tank ducked down the best he could.

"Morelli! We are heading down Hamilton and someone is shooting at us. We can't get a fix on the vehicle. I have some of my men and Steph with me. We just left the hospital. We have some RangeMen vehicles heading our way. Can you get some squads in pursuit? I don't want anyone to get hurt." Another shot rang out. Sirens could now be heard.

A RangeMan vehicle came up behind us blocking us from the shooter. Another vehicle got in front of us.

"Ranger, Woody says he spotted Jensen in the green SUV behind us." Tank said.

"Morelli. Green SUV. It's Jensen." Ranger informed Joe.

Squad cars spotted the green SUV and surrounded it, forcing it off the road. We stopped a few blocks away. Ranger and Tank got out. "Stay with Steph." Ranger ordered Bobby and Lester. I tried to protest, but he and Tank were gone. I watched from the shot out rear window.

Police had surrounded the SUV with their guns drawn. Ranger and Tank got to the site and were sheltered by one of the squad cars. Ranger spoke to the officer. I couldn't tell who it was from where we were parked. A high powered rifle came out of the window on the passenger side and was aimed at our vehicle. Bobby grabbed me and pulled me down. Shouts from the police to drop the weapon were heard. I heard Lester say that this didn't look good and said we should get out of here. I felt Bobby grab me again and drag me out of the vehicle. We got a few feet away when the shot rang out and the vehicle exploded. Bobby, Lester and I were thrown to the ground. Somehow they both ended up on top of me shielding me from the falling debris.

I didn't hear the gunfire that sounded after that. The roar of the explosion drowned it out. But I learned later that multiple bullets penetrated the green SUV and killed the people inside. One of them was Jensen and the other was his assistant, who was the driver.

Ranger and Tank came running back to us after the explosion, along with a few police officers and Joe. Ranger saw us lying on the ground and came directly over to us. Bobby and Lester were just attempting to stand up when Ranger reached past them nearly pushing them out of the way and pulled me up to him.

"Oh God Babe! I thought you were safe way over here. I thought I lost you in the explosion. I should have had Lester drive you out of here."

"I'm fine. A few cuts and scraps but I am fine." I said.

Ranger kissed me hard at first and then he let up and kissed me softly. He cradled my face with one hand as the other was wrapped around me holding me to him.

"I guess I forgot to mention that Jensen was a sharp shooter." I said. I paused for a moment and remembered the car seat with the hole in it. I shuddered at the thought of what might have happened to Ricky.

"I don't think we'll get that account for security at his home and office." I continued trying to add some levity to the situation.

"Only you, Babe."

"Well, I can see that everything is fine here. Glad to see that you are still getting vehicles blown up, Cupcake. It's been a while. Things just haven't been the same." Joe said.

I stuck my tongue out at Joe.

"Babe, I can think of better ways to use that tongue." Ranger whispered in my ear. Oh boy.

Joe asked us to come to the station to give our statements. Ranger looked at me. "Might as well get this over with so I can go home and see our son."

Two RangeMan vehicles pulled up. Hal got out of one and hopped into the other one with Binkie driving. Tank got in the driver's side and Bobby got in the passenger side. Lester hopped into the back with Ranger and me.

"How come I can't drive?" Lester whined.

"Because you know shit about evasive driving." Tank answered.

"Hey. Let's see you try and dodge bullets and other cars on a busy street." Lester countered.

"Let's hope we don't have to do that again." Bobby said.

Ranger had his arm around me and held my hand. I had my head on his shoulder. I just wanted to get this done and go home to some peace and quiet. Just the three of us. Ranger, Ricky and me.

________________

We got to the station and gave our statements. Joe came over to me as I waited for Ranger and the Merry Men to finish up.

"So, Cupcake, why were you at the hospital? You don't have to tell me. I know it isn't any of my business. I still care, you know." Joe said.

"I know, Joe. And you will probably hear about it sooner or later. I had a miscarriage."

"Wow, I'm sorry Steph. So that's why Ranger is back?" I nodded my head. "Is that why you were so agreeable to stay at home the day Jensen came to RangeMan?"

I nodded my head again. "Yeah. That, and the fact that Carlos asked me and didn't tell me or demand that I stay home."

Joe looked down at his feet. "So, are you O.K.? I mean, are you going to try again?" He stammered.

"The doctor said that there is a good chance the next pregnancy will be fine. And we weren't trying to get pregnant right now. I wanted to wait until after we were married before trying. My mother tore into me good at the hospital about my sleeping around and getting pregnant."

"She didn't." Joe said.

"Oh, just ask Tank, Bobby and Lester. They were there, along with my dad. And I gave it right back at her. Everyone's jaw dropped when I finally stood up to her told her to get out."

"You didn't. I've known you for how long? And I don't think I've ever seen you let your Mom have it. I've seen you do it to others, but never your own mother."

"Yeah, well I am like a mother bear that has become separated from her cub. Don't mess with me."

"Ready to go, Babe?" Ranger came up to me and put his arm around me.

"Something doesn't feel right?" I said.

"Are you O.K.?" Ranger said alarmed. "Maybe we should go back to the hospital."

"I agree we should go back to the hospital." I said. "But not for the reason you think. My spidey-sense is humming. It is telling me that there is something else. I think that something else is back at the hospital."

"Explain." Ranger said.

"They knew we were leaving the hospital." I said.

Ranger and Joe looked at each other. And then back a me.

"How would they know I was being discharged? Or that I was even in the hospital, for that matter? They were waiting for us to come out of the hospital. Someone informed them. I think I know who it was."

_______________

I walked up to the nurses station. Kelly was sitting at the desk entering information into the computer from her notes. She looked up and saw me. She frowned slightly, but immediately put a smile on her face.

"Steph! I thought you were going home today." She said.

"That's interesting, Kelly. How would you know that?"

"I saw it on the computer." She said.

"Yes, but I wasn't on your floor. I was on maternity. In order for you to know that you had to check my chart. Isn't that a breach of hospital patient confidentiality?" I challenged.

"I. . .I. . .um. . .um. . ." Kelly stammered. "Let's go over here to talk." She said as she got up from the station and motioned for me to follow her down the hall. I guess she didn't want anyone to overhear that she was looking into patients' charts that she wasn't assigned to.

"You informed someone that I was being discharged, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Someone was waiting for us when we left and they tried to kill us. I want to know why."

"That's crazy. I . . ."

"Well as you can see, I am not dead."

"Wha. . ."

"Do you know a Billy Jensen?"

Kelly paled. "What about him?"

"Well, he and someone else followed us and tried to kill us. He blew up our SUV. As you can see we weren't in the vehicle at the time."

"Where's Billy?" She asked nervously.

"Well, let's just say that he looks like swiss cheese." I was baiting her. I wanted to know why she did this.

"YOU BITCH!" She yelled. She lunged for me but was caught and dragged back by Bobby and Lester, who happened to come up behind her from the stairwell as we were talking. "Because of you I lost my husband!" She said as she struggled to get away.

"Your husband? Billy Jensen was your husband?" I asked.

"No! Tony Sarducci!"

"Tony Sarducci. Why does that name ring a bell?" I questioned as Ranger came up to me.

"Tony Sarducci was an FTA that you did a distraction job on before I left on my last mission." Ranger informed me. "He was wanted for selling drugs to kids and child pornography."

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Kelly said. "He was innocent. You put an innocent man in jail. You lured him out with your seduction." She spat out at me with disgust.

I was thinking back and I remembered that job. He was at a night club where the twenty-somethings hung out. I remember him leering at the young women. He gave me the creeps. I lured him out by telling him that I had to get home to my teenage daughters. That I was an army widow with two daughters at home and I was kind of lonely. I shuddered at the thought of him.

"Do you know what they did to him in jail? They hurt him, badly. He shouldn't have been in there."

"How did you get involved with Billy Jensen?" I asked.

"Tony and Billy worked together. Billy helped me out after Tony was brutally killed while in jail. We became lovers. We were going to get married."

"I hate to tell you this but Billy was already married."

"You're lying! You are a lying bitch!"

"He was married to the mob."

"That's not true."

"He was married to Margo Cantonelli." Kelly paled a little bit. "He was trying to work his way up the ladder of his father-in-law's organization. I am sure you have heard of the Cantonelli's. They kinda have their fingers into everything. _Drugs_, guns, _porn_."

"No, no, that's not true. Billy wouldn't lie to me."

"What? That the Cantonelli's aren't into drugs, guns and porn? Or the fact that Billy was married? Or that your husband was connected to the mob?"

"You're wrong. Tony didn't work for the mob. Billy and I were going to get married." She sobbed.

"I don't think Margo would have been happy with that. In fact if her father found out, both you and Billy would probably end up as fish food."

Joe and a couple of female officers came forward then. "Kelly Larson. You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit harm. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You. . ." One of the officers said.

"Joe! You can't do this! You can't put me in jail! I'm pregnant. You don't want your child born behind bars!" She screamed as she was being taken away. Joe paled when she said she was pregnant.

I put my hand on his arm. "Joe. You don't know for sure if she is pregnant. And even if she is, you don't know if it yours. She obviously has been with Billy Jensen."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Can you order a pregnancy test?"

"I don't know. I will have to talk about it with the DA. It could be a violation of her rights."

"What I want to know is why she waited until now to inform Jensen you were leaving the hospital?" Lester asked. "When you left with Ricky after he was discharged would have been the perfect opportunity."

"I had Lula pick us up. They were probably looking for a black SUV not a red Firebird."

Lester nodded his head.

"But all the times you came to visit Joe while he was here. You came alone. Why not then?" Bobby asked.

"She didn't know when I would come and when I would leave. I came at different times. Even if she saw me leave there wouldn't have been time to inform Jensen to get him here. And they were looking for a black SUV. I came in my Crossfire."

"Makes sense." Bobby said.

"I think it was safe to say that Jensen was the one shooting at us when we left Big Jim's." Joe said.

We nodded our heads.

"But why lure Morelli to the house? He wasn't in on the distraction, if this was done in retaliation to that." Tank asked.

"Maybe Kelly wanted to eliminate anyone who was romantically involved with Steph. She lost her husband and she wanted Steph to feel the same pain." Ranger said.

"But I was with you then." I said. "Do you think she was really the one who made the call to Joe to lure him to the house?"

"Probably. I got the coroner report on Carmela Santini. They listed the time of death as the day before I got the call. They must have killed her and took her phone and had Kelly make the call."

"Astiago was used as a decoy. They set him up to lead us to think it was him. Using his girlfriend. The whole drug smuggling thing." I said.

"The drug smuggling was real. Astiago was doing that. It could be that Jensen wanted to takeover the business, but Jensen used him as the scapegoat for this plan of theirs to throw us off. Astiago knew what must have happened when Agent Nelson said his name. Astiago knew he was a dead man either way, so he took his own life." Joe said. "I'm sure we will find out everything. Kelly will probably make a deal with the DA and the Feds. I don't think she is the type to want to spend a lot of time in jail."

"Come on Babe. Let's go home." Ranger said as he took my hand to lead me out of the hospital.

**TBC Chapter 32 - Dealing With The Loss**

**NOTE: **Again, I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I don't pretend to know all the procedures involved. The info I got miscarriages and testing I got from the internet.


	32. Chapter 32

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 32  
****Dealing With The Loss**

We pulled into the garage. We all got out. We were still very quiet as we got in the elevator. Tank, Bobby and Lester got off on the 4th floor. They were going to their apartments to sleep for a couple of hours.

"We're off line until further notice." Ranger told them.

The three of them nodded their heads in understanding. Ranger and I got off on the 6th floor and knocked on Ella's door. Ella opened it.

"Oh Stephanie, Carlos. I am so sorry." She said as she hugged us.

"Thank you, Ella." I said.

"I can keep Ricky with me if you want to get some rest." She said.

"No, I want to see my son." I replied.

"Of course." Ricky was crawling over to the door. He saw us and made a beeline to us.

"Mumum. Da-da."

"There's my big boy." I said smiling. Ranger scooped him up and gave him a kiss on the head and gave him to me to hold. I gave him a kiss and tears where sliding down my face again. Ricky gave me a wet kiss on the cheek and brushed his little had at the tears.

"We'll be staying upstairs for the time being." Ranger said.

"What would you like for lunch?" She asked.

"Anything will be fine." I answered.

"I have tomatoes stuffed with chicken salad."

"That sounds wonderful."

"I'll bring it up shortly." Ella said.

"Thank you, Ella." I said as we walked out of her apartment. We got up to the 7th floor. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I was here. Ranger took Ricky from me and set him down by the basket with his toys. I continued to the bedroom. The bloody sheets were gone and the bathroom was cleaned up. I knew it would be, but I still looked to see if the blood was still there.

Ranger came up behind me and wrapped his arms around and pulled me against him. He kissed my head. "It's going to be all right, Babe."

"I know. It still hurts. I so feel empty. But it helps to see Ricky again."

Ella knocked on the door before coming in with lunch. In addition to the stuffed tomatoes, there were whole-wheat rolls, fruit cocktail, raspberry iced tea and chocolate cake for dessert. Ella knew me so well. She knew sugar and chocolate and cake would help me get through this.

_______________

After lunch, Ranger and I lay on the couch together. I was on top with Rangers arms around me. He was slowly rubbing my back. We were watching Ricky as he played.

"We are so lucky. We have this beautiful little boy." I said softly.

"Babe." Ranger said.

"What if we can't have any more children?" I whispered.

"Then we don't have any more kids." Ranger answered.

"Are you O.K. with that?" I asked him.

"Babe, we got together because we finally admitted to ourselves and to each other that we love each other. We didn't get together to have a baby. We're talking about two people, who both have said on numerous occasions, that they didn't want kids. O.K. someday, maybe. Ricky was a pleasant surprise. And I can't imagine our life without him in it. And I thank God every day for blessing me with you and Ricky. And before you go jumping to conclusions, I am not marrying you because of Ricky. I would be marrying you even if we didn't have a child. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Ricky is just an added bonus. That's not to say that I wouldn't want to have another child with you. Because I do. But if it doesn't happen, then I will be happy with what I have."

"I love you so much it hurts." I whispered to him. "I thank God every day for bringing you into my life. And I love Ricky more than I thought was possible. I never dreamed that having a child could make me feel this way. And I want to have another child with you, but I am scared. What if there is something wrong with me?"

"Babe, we will deal with it when the time comes. No sense in getting all worked up over something we have no control over. I'm still going to love you no matter what. I'm afraid you are stuck with me. I love you."

"I love you." I whispered back. Our mouths met and he gave me a deep, long kiss. The kissing got more intense. I moaned. Ranger started to caress me under my shirt. We started to get more fevered. I pulled his shirt up so I could caress his chest and abs. Just then a stuffed animal was thrown at us. We stopped and there was Ricky standing by the couch. Saved by the baby. It was a good thing because we were starting to get a little more carried away and we were restricted from having sex.

He was rubbing his eyes. "He must be tired." I said. I maneuvered off of Ranger and went to pick up Ricky. "Are you ready for a nap, Little Man?" I said to him. I took him into the bedroom and put him down on his bed. I took his shoes and socks off. Ranger came in with a sippy cup of formula for him. Ricky took the cup and started to drink it. I got his giraffe, the stuffed animal that he threw at us, and tucked it in with him. I pulled the blanket up. I gave him a kiss and turned to leave.

"Babe, why don't you go lie down and take a nap too." Ranger said.

A nap did sound good. So I nodded and went over to our bed. I stripped down and pulled a T-shirt over my head. I got into the bed and Ranger gave me a kiss.

"I'll be right outside if you need me, Babe."

"O.K." I said and I closed my eyes and was instantly asleep.

_______________

**Ranger POV**

I had some calls to make. I was dreading them. I didn't know how to say what I was going to say. I started with the easier of the two. The phone on the other end started ringing.

"Hello?" A female voice said.

"Hello, Mama." I said.

"Carlos? How are you? Are you in Atlanta or Miami now?"

"I'm fine, Mama. And I'm not in Atlanta or Miami. I'm in Trenton."

"Oh? Did you finish up early?"

"No, Mama." I hesitated.

"Carlos? Is something wrong? You haven't changed your mind about the wedding have you. I know Ernesto was hard on Stephanie when she and Ricky were here."

"No, Mama. Steph and I are still getting married. Steph told me what Ernesto said. He better watch what he says, especially around me."

"Carlos. Tell me what is wrong. Something has to be bothering you for you to call your mother. I am sure it isn't how Ernesto is treating Stephanie and Ricky."

"No, Mama. That isn't why I am calling. It's just . . ." I hesitated again. "It's just . . . Mama. Steph had a miscarriage." I finally spit it out.

"Oh No! Carlos, I'm so sorry. Is she all right?"

"Yes and no. She is having a hard time dealing with the loss. She tries to put up a good front, but I see the sadness in her eyes. She blames herself."

"Carlos. It wasn't her fault. It just happens sometimes."

"I know, Mama. I tell her that. She's afraid that something is wrong with her and that she will not be able to have another child."

"Oh Carlos. I wish there was something I could do. How are you handling this?"

"I'm handling it. But I'm angry that I wasn't here for her. Again she had to go through something alone and I should have been here. This was my child too."

"Carlito. You couldn't have stopped it from happening. The only thing you could have done was be there to hold her hand and hold her after. I hope you are doing that."

"I am, Mama. I hold her and dry her tears."

"Then you are doing what you should be doing. Stephanie didn't tell us she was pregnant when she was here. I assume that she was and that you knew before you left with Julie."

"Yes. Steph told me on my birthday. We decided not to tell anyone until after our honeymoon. She was afraid of what people would think about her getting pregnant twice before getting married. Especially her mom."

"She worries too much about what others think."

"Yes, she does. But that also makes her care about others. She knows what it is like to be judged and looked down upon. And I love her because of that. I gotta go Mama. I just wanted to call and let you know what happened."

"O.K. Carlos. Thank you for letting me know. Give Stephanie our love. I'll be thinking and praying for her. Give Ricky a kiss from me."

"O.K. Mama. I will."

"When are you going back to Miami?"

"I'm going to stay here the rest of the week. Then I'll finish up in Atlanta and then go to the Miami office. Then I will be back a couple of days before the wedding with Julie."

"O.K. Carlos. Take care of yourself. And I'll see you in a couple of weeks. I love you."

"Love you too, Mama."

There. One call done and another to go. This one was going to be harder. I dialed the number. It rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello?" A younger female voice answered.

"Rachel. It's Carlos."

"Carlos! How are you? Have you gotten cold feet yet?" Rachel teased.

"I'm fine. And no, I don't have cold feet. Can I speak to Julie?"

"Julie isn't here at the moment. She is outside with some friends. Would you like me to call her in?" She asked.

"If you could. I won't be long. I just have to tell her something. I think it would be better if I told her personally."

"Hang on and I will go and get her." Rachel said. I heard her put the phone down and walk away. I sat there trying to think of how to say what I had to say. I heard footsteps running to the phone and heard as it was picked up.

"Hi Dad." Julie said breathlessly.

"Hi Carina. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Are you back in Miami?"

"No. I'm back home in Trenton."

"Oh? Is something wrong? I thought you were coming back to Miami and then take me with you when you went home."

"That was the original plan. But something happened."

"You and Steph are still getting married aren't you?" She questioned.

"Yes, Carina. Steph and I are still getting married." I had to smile. Seems that there was a question if we would go through with it or not. I wondered if there was a pool down at the police station.

"Oh good. What happened Dad?"

"Steph lost the baby." I couldn't think of any other way to put it.

"Oh my God! Is she O.K.?"

"She will be. Right now she is sad." I decided not to go into the guilt and the fear that something was wrong that my Babe was dealing with.

"Can I talk to her?" Julie asked.

"She's sleeping right now, Carina. Why don't you call her tomorrow?"

"O.K."

"I'm going to stay up here the rest of the week. Then I'll finish up in Atlanta and then I'll be in Miami. We will get back up here a couple of days before the wedding instead of the week I had originally planned."

"O.K. Dad. Um, is it O.K. to tell Mom about the baby?"

"Sure. You can tell her. In fact let me talk to your mom. I have to tell her about the change in plans anyway."

"O.K. Dad. I love you. Tell Steph I'm sorry and I love her too. Give Ricky a kiss."

"Love you too, Carina."

"Here's Mom." Julie said as she handed the phone to Rachel.

"Carlos?"

"Hi Rachel. I just wanted to let you know that there is a change in the plans. Steph had a miscarriage and I am back in Trenton right now."

"Oh Carlos. I am so sorry. I didn't know Steph was pregnant. Julie didn't say anything."

"We asked her not to until after the wedding."

"I see some things haven't changed." She said with some teasing. I guess she was referring to getting married with a pregnant bride.

"No, I guess not. So I'm staying up here for the rest of the week. Then I'll finish up my reviews in Atlanta and then I'll come to Miami. Julie and I will head back to Trenton a couple of days before the wedding."

"You're cutting it a little close there, Carlos. Are you sure Steph is going to be O.K. with that?"

"Yes, she wants me to finish up at the other offices so that we can be together without interruptions. Of course that was when she was pregnant."

"She'll still want you there."

"Well, I should let you go."

"O.K. Carlos. I'm so sorry for your loss. Please tell Steph how sorry I am. We'll see you in about a week. Take care."

"Thanks, Rachel. I'll let Steph know. Bye."

I hung up and let out a sigh. That was out of the way now. I decided to go and lie down in the bed and hold my Babe.

I quietly entered that bedroom. Ricky was still sleeping, clutching his stuff animal. Steph was curled up, her hair spread out on the pillow. I kicked off my shoes and slipped out of my pants. I put on some sweat pants. I slipped in behind Steph and pulled her against me. She rolled over and laid her head on my chest.

"Carlos. Is it time to get up?"

"Shh. No. Go back to sleep." I said as I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. I brushed a soft kiss on her forehead and tucked her head under my chin.

"I love you, Babe."

"Love you too." Steph mumbled. "Ricky awake?"

"No. Just go back to sleep."

________________

Later that night. Steph was sitting on the couch and I was on the floor playing with Ricky. When Ricky got up picked up a book and walked over to Steph. He gave her the book. "Ook." Ricky said. We both looked at each other. Our son was walking.

"Hi Ricky. You want Mommy to read to you?" Steph pick up Ricky and settled him on her lap. She took the book and opened it and started to read. I picked up the toys on the floor and sat down in one of the chairs to listen. The book was 'The Pokey Little Puppy'. When she was done, she set Ricky on the floor. "Go to Daddy." Ricky took tentative steps over to me. I picked him up and held him up in the air. He giggled and shrieked.

"You are getting to be such a big boy." I said.

"I think it is bath time." Steph said. "Can you give him his bath?" Steph asked. I looked at her.

"Are you feeling O.K., Babe?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired. I'm fine." She responded.

"Are you sure?" I asked a little concerned.

"Yeah. I'll come in and watch. I'll get his pajamas and a nighttime diaper. It won't be long and we'll be potty training."

I gave Ricky his bath and then I let him play in the tub. I turned to Steph where she sat on the counter top.

"Are you sure you're O.K.? You usually like bath time." I asked again.

"Carlos, I'm fine." She said. "I thought that maybe you would like to spend some time with your son. You've been away and will be leaving again."

"I do want to spend some time with my son, but I am concerned about you. You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Yes, but there is nothing wrong. Why don't you go and get Ricky out of the tub and put his pajamas on. I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll meet you in the living room. I'll read him another book and then we can put him to bed."

I was sitting on the couch with Ricky. I was talking to him. Well as much as you can talk to a one year old. Steph came from the bedroom. She had on sweat pants and a T-shirt. She selected a book from the bookshelf and sat down next to us. The book she picked out was Winnie the Pooh.

Steph read the book. Ricky's eyes were getting heavy. She finished the book and I picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. I put him down and Steph handed me his giraffe. She also had a bottle for him. He liked to have a bottle at night. We kissed him goodnight and we left the bedroom.

We walked back out to the living room. I stretched out on the couch and pulled Steph down on top of me.

"I talked to Mama and Julie today." I told her.

"Oh?"

"I told them about the baby. They send their love."

She nodded her head.

"Are you all right with me telling them? You seem quiet."

"It's fine." She said.

"Babe, I'm sorry if you didn't want everyone to know. I just thought that you'd want to let at least Julie to know."

"It's fine." She said again.

"You don't seem fine."

"Carlos, I'm fine. Will you please stop." She said irritated.

I kiss the top of her head. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are trying to make me feel better. But can you please stop hovering. I'm not made out of porcelain. I'm not going to break. Just because I didn't bathe our son like I normally do, doesn't mean that something is wrong."

"Steph, something IS wrong. I can feel it. Something is bothering you. Tell me. Please. I can't fix it if I don't know what is wrong."

She was quiet for a while, then she let out a sigh. She lifted her head to look at me.

"Do we have to move back to the house?" She asked. This took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting that.

"Don't you like the house Babe?"

"Yes, I love it, but it's so. . . so. . .isolated."

"You didn't have any problem living there before I came home."

"I know and I was scared sometimes, but mostly I didn't like being alone."

"You could have invited people over. You still can invite people over."

"I know and I did. But now it's different. I don't feel safe now. I know you installed the best security system that money can buy and you run the security company that monitors the house. But we are still so far away. I know that you want the peace and quiet and seclusion. But I'm still scared to be there alone with Ricky. What happens if something bad happens to Ricky again? Or to me? What would have happened if I was there when I had the miscarriage? Or what if some crazy madman decides to attack the house? And you're not there. I can't ask Miranda to stay there permanently. She has her own home and a husband to take care of."

"Would you want one of the guys to stay out there with you while I'm gone?"

"Would you be O.K. with that?" She asked somewhat hesitantly.

"If it makes you feel better staying there, then it is all right with me."

"I can just imagine what Ernesto is going to say about it. He'll say that I'm fucking your men every night that you aren't there."

"Babe, if he says one word to anyone about that, he is going to wish he was never born." I said vehemently.

"Carlos, I don't want to come between you and your family."

"We talked about this already. You and Ricky are my family now. What if we talked to Miranda and Walter and see if they would consider living at the house. There is a fairly large apartment above the garage that they can use. We can get it fixed up to their liking, if they consider it. You will have someone close by in case of emergencies. Miranda wouldn't have to commute far for work. Right now they live about 20 minutes away from the house. I don't know about Walter. I thought he was going to retire from teaching."

"Do you think they would consider it?"

"I don't know, Babe. We need to ask. There wasn't a need to have a full-time housekeeper before, so I never considered asking them to come live there."

"I'm sorry that I am being such a scaredy cat about all this. It's just that I have someone who is depending on me for protection and security. If it was just me, I don't think it would be a problem. But I have Ricky that I need to think about now."

"It's fine, Babe. And I wouldn't expect anything less of you. And if Miranda and Walter don't want to move. We can look for another house, something closer."

"You would do that?"

"Of course I would. As long as you are happy and feel safe and secure. We can move back here. We can remodel the apartment to accommodate Ricky. Maybe add a balcony."

"I don't know if I want the Merry Men THAT close. It would be safe, that much is sure."

"Babe, whatever it takes. But I just want you to know that in addition to the new alarm system in the house, there are sensors outside the perimeter that are 50 and 25 feet from the fence line. These are monitored separately, so that if an animal should cross the path of the sensor it will alarm only at RangeMan. They will check it out and if it is determined that it is an animal. Then they will reset the sensor. If they can't determine what set off the alarm, someone will be dispatched immediately to check it out. And I will check the area more frequently to make sure everything is working properly."

"I know you are doing your best to keep us all safe."

"And I won't be leaving you behind next time I need to go away on business. I don't have to go 'in the wind' any more. I'll be taking you and possibly Ricky with me when I need to go to Boston, Atlanta or Miami. Or anywhere else I decide to open an office."

Steph kissed me and I deepened the kiss. The heat began to build.

"I want you so bad." Steph whispered.

I started to remove her shirt when she stopped me.

"We can't." She said. I stopped and remembered we were banned from having sex. I groaned.

"I know. I'm glad you are going to be gone. I don't know if I would survive the next two weeks or so with you here and not being able to have you."

"Same here, Babe." I sighed. "Let's go to bed." Steph yawned then. "That's it. It is time for bed."

**TBC Chapter 33 - New Neighbors **


	33. Chapter 33

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 33  
****New Neighbors**

Miranda and Walter agreed to meet with us at the house. Ranger and I walked into the living room. Ella was watching Ricky for us. Miranda hugged me. "I'm so sorry Sweety. Are you O.K.?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. I'll be all right. Thanks."

We sat down.

"I'll get right to the point. Steph is afraid to stay here by herself. She is afraid that if something happened to Ricky, like when he had the seizures or to her, like the miscarriage, there wouldn't be anyone nearby to help. Both those things happened when I wasn't there." Ranger took my hand and held it. I don't know if it was to comfort me or comfort him. He was still blaming himself for not being there when he was needed most.

"We were wondering if both of you would consider staying here. There is a large apartment above the garage. You would have your privacy, but would be nearby if something should happen."

"It would be like we are neighbors." I added.

"The apartment would need to be fixed up. It hasn't been used since I purchased the house. We would have it done to your specifications."

Miranda and Walter looked at each other. They smiled. "We were just talking about downsizing. Our house is too big for just the two of us now. We were going to start looking into buying a condo. Walter will be retiring at the end of the year. Could we see the apartment?" Miranda asked.

"Certainly." Ranger said. We all got up and went out to the garage. I had never been inside other than to park my car. I noticed there was a small door on the side. I just thought it was another entry into the garage, but actually it was the entrance to the stairs that led up to the apartment.

The apartment was dusty and grimy. It needed extensive remodeling. I wouldn't be surprised to find squirrels or mice taking up residence. There was a large living room. A large kitchen. A good sized bathroom. There were two small bedrooms and one larger bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. I was surprised at the size. I didn't realize it was that big. But then the garage itself stored eight cars. There was even a balcony that overlooked the patio and pool area of the big house.

Miranda and Walter looked it over. They were talking in the corner. Ranger and I tried not to eavesdrop. They turned to us. "We'll take it." Miranda said. I smiled and let out a sigh. I liked this house and didn't want to leave it and now with more people nearby I could relax a little.

Ranger made an appointment for an architect to come out and come up with some plans. He would talk to Miranda and Walter about what they wanted. Miranda already said that she was going to turn one of the bedrooms into a sewing room. And Walter was going to use the other as a study. Their current house had four bedrooms in addition to a den, a family room, living room, dining room, kitchen and two bathrooms and a powder room and laundry room. It sounded almost as big as this house. I couldn't believe that Miranda took care of our house and her house every day.

With that taken care of Ranger made arrangements for one of the Merry Men to stay at the house until he got back. I felt better and we moved back to the house. Poor Ricky was getting moved around so much. Soon he would be staying with the grandparents while Ranger and I were on our honeymoon. I was hoping that as soon as we got back that we could settle down and be a normal family. Yeah right.

________________

Joe came to RangeMan before Ranger was to leave to go back to Atlanta. He was escorted to Ranger's office. Ranger called me and asked me to join them. Tank came in for the meeting too.

Joe was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Ranger's desk. Ranger indicated that I should sit in the other one. Tank sat on the couch.

"So you have some information to us?" Ranger asked Joe.

"Yes, as I suspected Kelly made a deal with the DA and Feds and confessed to the crime for a lesser sentence. It turns out that she was having an affair with Jensen. She swears she didn't know he was already married and was working for Cantonelli. She also said she wasn't aware of her late husband's involvement either, but that would explain all the lavish and expensive things that Tony bought. Expensive cars, jewelry, trips, just to name a few."

"Where does Jensen come into the picture?" I asked.

"Jensen was there to comfort her and he gave her money and bought her some things. He is the one that informed her that you were responsible for Tony getting arrested. He got Tony an attorney. He was of course the family's attorney. But Kelly didn't know that. After Tony was brutally stabbed with a shiv while in jail. Jensen kept telling Kelly that you were responsible for his death. So they started to hatch the plan. They watched you for a while. But you pretty much stayed at RangeMan. When you left, you always had a bodyguard, as she called it. She said that it pissed her off that you were so high and mighty to have bodyguards. They followed you one day to the house. That is how they knew where it was. But that is how they learned to look for a black SUV. By this time they knew you were pregnant and they were going to try something at the hospital when you had Ricky, but you were never alone. And Kelly couldn't get into your room without throwing suspicion on her for being somewhere in the hospital that she wasn't assigned to work. They are very tight up in the maternity unit and would recognize a nurse who shouldn't be there."

I shuddered at the thought that something could have happened to Ricky at the hospital. Thank God he never left my sight while we were there.

"Jensen wanted to run Astiago's drug operation. So he came up with this plan to get Astiago out of the way and make it look like Astiago was responsible for hurting you. So they started watching Astiago. Jensen learned about the Feds and my connection to them and the investigation into Astiago. He couldn't believe his luck. Kelly knew about the two of us and told Jensen about our history. So that is when he contacted me and told me all about Astiago's operation. I, of course, took the information to the Feds. And that got us to the bust at the warehouse in Camden. Of course Jensen decided he needed to get rid of me cause he didn't want me to ID him and that is when they came up with the plan to lure me to the house. She didn't know that Astiago's operation had to do with moving drugs over the border into Canada. She just thought that Jensen was initiating a company merger. He filled her head with lies about his company merging with Astiago's. She thought that it was a legitimate business deal. She didn't know about Carmela Santini. Jensen just gave her a cell phone and asked her to call me. She just thought it had to do with getting even with you. She wasn't aware of Jensen intention of eliminating me along with you."

"So what were they planning on doing to you two at the house?" Ranger asked.

"Kelly wasn't sure on the details. Jensen didn't share too much with her it seems. But it was to get me to the house in the middle of the night. I would push the button to announce that I was there. Of course, Steph wouldn't be expecting me and it would take a while for her to answer the buzzer. By that time they would have ambushed me. Steph wouldn't have been aware of what was going on. They hoped that she wouldn't look to closely at the monitor, just see me and open the gate and then they would get into the grounds. Then, Kelly guessed, they would have killed us both. They must have found out somehow that Ranger was gone. I don't know where they would have gotten that info. Kelly didn't know. Jensen must have gotten that information and didn't pass that onto her."

"I will have to find out who the leak is. It better not have come from someone in my company. They will wish they were dead when I get through with them." Ranger said.

"When that didn't work, they had to come up with something else. They didn't take into consideration Ricky being sick. So they scrambled and tried to come up with a way to get to Steph in the hospital again. But she was never left alone. So Jensen just started to follow Steph. He followed her from the hospital when Lula picked her and Ricky up at the hospital. He didn't try anything then as he was just trying to get some intel. He followed them to your parents' house. And then to the house when you moved back. He followed you to Big Jim's and he sat there and watched and couldn't believe his luck when it turned out that I was there. So he quickly set up the ambush inside a vacant office across the street. He waited as the lunch crowd thinned out. He must have missed Ranger entering the restaurant. So when we came out he started to shoot. He hit me and he tried to get you but he didn't count on Ranger being there or Ranger's men to come to the rescue. He told Kelly that his missed his opportunity to get you. Kelly said he was mad that he didn't take all that into account that you would have all these body guards. Kelly didn't know that Jensen was the one that shot me. She just assumed it was police business that got me shot and hospitalized."

"So is that why she was giving you some tender loving care?" I asked.

Joe nodded his head at his stupidity. "I can't believe I let her take advantage of me like that. I guess I was still reeling at the thought of losing you. When we met up at the restaurant, I thought that I was getting another chance with you. That you were finally turning back to me. You and Ranger had supposedly broken up. But then he showed up and I realized that wasn't the case and that you weren't trying to get back together with me. I reached out like a starving man needing nourishment and she was supplying it."

"Is she pregnant?" I asked softly.

"No. Thank God." Joe answered. "The DA asked the judge to order a physical. He said that they needed to take into consideration if she was with child. The judge agreed and they found her not to be pregnant. Her attorney tried to fight it, but if it turned out that she wasn't pregnant after they insisted that she was, they might be held in contempt of court. And I don't think that Cantonelli would be too happy if the baby turned out to be his son-in-law's. So his attorney also insisted on a pregnancy test. I think they would have insisted on an amniocentesis to determine paternity, if the test came back positive."

"So what made him shoot at us when we were leaving the hospital the other day?" Ranger asked.

"I think he was starting to get desperate. Kelly kept harping at him to get Steph. She told him that she was risking her job at the hospital by giving him information. She even tried a few times to get to Steph when she was at the hospital but the bodyguards were always around. She stopped once and said she was a friend but they wouldn't let her in."

"How come they let her into your room?" I asked.

"She worked on that floor for one. And two, I think she told them that she was supposed to give me a sponge bath. I heard them chuckle before she came in the room."

"I will have to find out which of my men were on duty and reprimand them. When I give an order, I expect to be taken seriously. They better obey it." Ranger said as he looked at Tank. Tank nodded his head and left Ranger's office to find out who was on duty that day.

"But Ranger, she worked on the floor. They had to have seen her there every day. How could they bar her from entering a patient's room, if she worked there? Would they know which nurse was assigned to Joe that day?"

"They should have checked."

"But would they been given the information had they asked? All of the patient confidentiality laws that we have now, limit what information can be given out."

"Tank will check with the men that were on duty that day and what the hospital procedure is on that." Ranger finished.

"So, Kelly tried to get in my room and when that didn't work she called Jensen. Why did Jensen shoot at us with all the traffic on the street at that hour? He could have hurt other people in addition to us?" I asked.

"Well, I think that Jensen was getting antsy and decided that he would take out whoever was with you that day. I think he got sloppy in his haste to get rid of you for Kelly."

"What kind of sentence is Kelly going to get?" I asked.

"Ten to Twenty in a medium security prison. She was in on the planning, but she wasn't the one who actually tried to kill us. Although she better watch her back in prison. I am sure that Cantonelli is not happy that she was having an affair with his daughter's husband. He may have someone hurt her while in there. Well, I better be going. I just wanted to stop by and fill in you on what Kelly had to say."

"Thanks, Joe. I'm sorry that you got targeted for something I did."

"Cupcake, it wasn't your fault. You did your job. And from what Kelly said, Jensen may have tried to eliminate me anyway to throw suspicion on Astiago."

"I'll walk you out, Morelli." Ranger said. I'm sure he was going to ask Joe to keep an eye on me while he was gone.

__________________

Ranger left to fly back to Atlanta. It was two and a half weeks until our wedding. I was kept busy with working at RangeMan and finalizing wedding stuff.

I had my final dress fitting and the dress fit perfectly. I took my dress and Julie's dress to my parents for safe keeping. I brought our shoes and undergarments so that everything was in one place. I checked with Lula, Connie and Mary Lou to make sure they had their dresses taken care of. They said they had. I checked with Tank, Bobby and Lester to make sure they had their fittings for their tuxes. Ranger had his taken care of before he left and I took Ricky for his. I checked with my dad and Ranger's dad to make sure they had gotten theirs taken care of. They assured me everything was fine.

I called the hotel to give them the count. Miranda had been taking care of the replies for me. I reserved the rooms for two nights for the families and the bridal party. I hope everyone didn't think that Ranger and I were going to sleep separately the night before the wedding. It wasn't going to happen.

I called the DJ and gave him the list of songs Ranger and I had chosen for our first dance, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance, and bridal party dance.

I called the church and spoke with Father John. Ranger and I were able to get our marriage classes taken care of in one weekend. We confirmed the time for the rehearsal and when we would arrive at the church for the ceremony. He said he would show us the rooms that we can use to get ready at the rehearsal. I told him the songs and scripture readings we chose and he said they were very good choices.

I called the bakery and confirmed the date and place for the cake. I called the photographer and we went through the list of pictures that we wanted. We were going to take some pictures before the ceremony. As we were having a candlelight ceremony, we didn't want all nighttime pictures. I would probably get in trouble for seeing the groom before the ceremony, but too bad. Both the photographer and the person video taping the ceremony would be there for the rehearsal so they could get the layout of the church and see where the best places would be to set up.

Next on the list was the florist. We went over again the number of corsages, boutonnieres, bouquets, candelabras and bows for the church pews and centerpieces. I hoped I wasn't forgetting anyone. I confirmed the addresses of the church and hotel and what needed to be delivered where.

Ranger said he would call and confirm our travel plans with the travel agent. He still wouldn't tell me where we were going. Damn him. He said he would also take care of the transportation to and from the church.

I helped Tank with the clients and we got three new accounts. I was getting more comfortable as I learned more about the business. I still did the searches.

________________

Lula, Connie, Mary Lou and Val threw me a bridal shower. They chose Starlight, which was one of the new nightclubs that recently opened. How they managed that, I don't know. Connie said something about knowing the owners. I didn't want to know what that meant. They even invited Ranger's mom, grandma, sisters and sister-in-law. Of course, my mom and grandma were there as well.

I got lots of gifts. So many, I didn't know what could possibly be left to receive as wedding gifts. We really didn't need much as Ranger had so much already. I did get some sexy lingerie. I got a gift certificate for a weekend getaway to the Poconos at a new resort that opened up from the girls. Someone must have remembered about my wanting to go away for a weekend, so Ranger and I can spend time with each other. That was probably Mary Lou.

Grandmas made sure that I had a supply of massage oils and an assortment of sex toys.

I didn't look too closely, especially with my mom and Ranger's mom there. But I did notice some cock rings and vibrators. And I got a cupless corset with garters and some crotchless panties from one of Ranger's sisters.

There were the usual towels and bed linens. Not the everyday kind, but the ultra luxurious kind. I got an assortment of bath gels and lotions in different fragrances from his grandma along with a beautiful photo album for our wedding pictures. I was given my something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

The something old was a lace handkerchief from Grandma. Her mother carried it when she got married. Grandma carried it when she married Grandpa. My mom carried it when she married my dad. I gave her a hug. "Thank you, Grandma. I will cherish it always." Funny, she hadn't given it to me to use when I married the Dickhead. Maybe she knew it wouldn't last.

The something new was a necklace and earrings set. Ranger had picked it out and gave it to his mom to give to me. It was a diamond journey necklace. The earrings were diamond studs with diamonds that dangled from the stud. I gave her a hug. "Thank you. I'll thank Carlos for it later." I said with a seduction in my voice.

The something borrowed was a bracelet that sort of matched the necklace. It was a diamond tennis bracelet from my mom. She wore it at her wedding.

Something blue was of course the garter. Well, actually two garters. One to throw and one for Ranger. Lula had little charms engraved with Ranger's and my names and the date of the wedding and had them attached to the garters.

I gave the bridesmaids their necklaces and earrings and the slippers. They all loved the slippers. They said that they will be able to dance all night in them.

It was a good thing I wasn't pregnant. We danced and drank and had a good time. Grandma got a little tipsy and was grabbing some of the men that were at the club. She jumped up on the bar and gyrated around. She was finally removed by the bartender and the bouncer. Mom decided to take her home. The bartender and bouncer were too happy to help to the car. God, I hope someone keeps an eye on her at the reception.

Ella and Miranda were even invited. So because I didn't have any baby sitters, the Merry Men offered to watch Ricky for me. Oh boy. Fortunately, there weren't any problems. They kept him up later than he should have been. They gave him ice cream in a cone for the first time. He was a sticky mess afterwards. But I didn't have to deal with it.

But I was hurting in the morning. One of the guys had the cure waiting for me at my cubicle when I got to work. I have to find out who it was so I can thank them properly. After I was feeling normal again, Lester brought Ricky to me. I went up to the 7th floor to spend some time with my son. I was feeling guilty because of all the pre-wedding things was taking up my time.

________________

I talked to Ranger that night. We didn't talk last night or this morning. He knew about the bridal shower/bachelorette party.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"Fine, now." I answered.

"Did you have fun?" He asked.

"Yes. We had fun. It is a good thing you are in Atlanta. You are missing out on your bachelor party."

"The guys here took me out."

"Oh? Where did you go? Or do you not want to tell me?"

"If you want to know if we went to a strip club, the answer is yes."

"A strip club?"

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me! You went to a strip club! How am I not supposed to be upset about that?"

"Nothing happened. I got a lap dance and that was it. You know me better."

"I know you, but I don't know the guys in the Atlanta office."

"They wouldn't have let me do anything bad."

"And what exactly, do they consider bad? I tend to think that any woman that is pushing her boobs into your face is bad. To have some woman rub her butt in your face or lap is bad. To have some woman rub her center over your package is bad. No other woman is to be touching my man. You are off limits."

"Babe. So how are things working out with one of the guys staying at the house? Are you sleeping better?"

"Don't go changing the subject. We aren't done talking about the strip club. But to answer you question, you know I don't sleep well when you aren't here. But, yes I am sleeping better than I did when Astiago and Jensen were after us."

"Who stayed over last night?"

"Junior."

"What did you three do?"

"Junior took Ricky swimming. And before you say anything, Ricky knows who his daddy is. He asks for you every day."

"I should be the one to take my son swimming."

"And you will. But you also have a business to run."

"Babe. I will be leaving tomorrow for Miami."

"You're done in Atlanta already? That didn't take long."

"I was just about done when I came back to be with you. A little over a week, we will be married."

"I know. I can't believe it is almost here. It seemed to take forever to get here and then again when you think of everything that has happened in this year it really came fast. Is that hurricane in the Carribean going to head your way?"

"No, I don't think so. It seems to be heading for Mexico. Cancun to be exact. It'll probably just keep going and hit Texas. You don't have to worry about that. I'll be home in plenty of time before the wedding."

"You weren't planning our honeymoon down in the Carribean, I hope?"

"No."

"You still won't tell me, will you?"

"Nope."

"Well, I hope you got my passport. We can't go anywhere out of the country without one you know."

"All taken care of."

"Damn you."

"I'll let you go now. I'll call again in the morning."

"Goodnight, Carlos, I love you."

"Love you too, Babe."

_______________

The next evening I was waiting for Ranger to call. Ricky was in bed sound asleep. I took the day off and spent the day with Ricky. He played in the sandbox and on the swing. He went down the slide. He was learning how to climb the steps and sit down at the top and slide down.

We went swimming in the big pool. Then he splashed around in his little pool. We did some finger painting. I thought one was fairly good and decided to get it framed to hang in the family room. I should have him do another one for Ranger's office. That way both of his children's art works would be on the wall.

Bobby was staying with us tonight. He brought some children's DVD and a movie for us to watch. We sat through a Thomas the Tank DVD and a Pooh DVD. Ricky liked his Thomas the Tank he got for his birthday and Pooh was a favorite of his too. He could say 'Pooh' and he said 'Tee Tee' for Thomas the Tank.

After I bathed Ricky and put him to bed, Bobby and I sat down to watch 'The Dark Knight'. I made popcorn and brought out bottles of water. I would have preferred beer but Bobby was technically on duty. After the movie was over, I said good night to Bobby and went upstairs to get ready for bed and Ranger's call. Bobby checked monitors in the den, then the doors and windows, set the alarm and called RangeMan to let them know we were done for the night.

I turned on the TV in the bedroom to see the news just as the phone rang.

"Yo, Babe. How are you?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Fine. How is Ricky? Who is taking care of my son tonight?"

Just then there was news was about Hurricane Ricardo. The hurricane had hit the area of Cancun during the day, then it made a turn and changed directions. It was now heading for Florida. Miami to be precise.

"Oh my God!" I said.

"Babe! What's wrong? Who's there with you tonight?" Ranger started to panic.

"The hurricane is now heading for Miami. Carlos you need to get out of there!"

"Babe. It's fine. We have a couple of days before it hits. I am going to help some of our clients board up their windows in anticipation of the storm. I'll get Julie and we will get out of Miami before the storm hits." He seemed to relax when he realized what I was upset about.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive." He said reassuringly. "The thing with hurricanes is that you can track them. It's not like a tornado which can suddenly touch down out of nowhere. I'm going to help board up Rachel and Ron's home as well."

"How is Julie?" I asked trying to change the subject so I wouldn't have a panic attack at the thought of Ranger not getting back here in time.

"She's good. She is bouncing off the walls in anticipation of our wedding. Rachel is having a hard time trying to get her to concentrate on her school work. I had dinner over there tonight."

"Well maybe the schools' will be closed because of the hurricane. This may work out in our favor. We didn't want Julie to miss a lot of school."

"It's possible. They have already been talking about it on the news."

"Well, I'll let you go so you can get some sleep. I am sure you are going to be up early to start working on boarding up windows. Hurry up, get the job done and get back here."

"Don't worry, Babe. I'll be there."

**TBC Chapter 34 - Hurricanes**


	34. Chapter 34

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 34  
****Hurricanes**

It was a couple of days before the wedding. I was lying in bed. I hadn't heard from Ranger for a couple of days. I am sure he was busy with preparations for the hurricane. He did call one day to tell me that he was moving Rachel and her family to the RangeMan building. There was a generator that could be used in case of a power outage. To say I was jealous was an understatement. Knowing she was going to be in the same building as he was driving me crazy. I know I was being irrational but I couldn't help it.

The phone rang. I quickly reached over to answer it.

"Yo." I said.

"Yo yourself, Babe."

"Oh, thank God. I was getting worried. I hadn't heard from you in days."

"I know. I am sorry Babe. But we were busy trying to get our clients prepared for the hurricane. We not only boarded up window and sand bagged around foundations but we made sure they had bottled water and other supplies. The bottled water is now all gone in the Miami area. Stores are completely out of milk, bread and other staples. They don't expect any more shipments until after the hurricane and then that can be a case of hit or miss.**"**

"When are you coming back?"

"Well, that is the other problem. Miami is shutting the airport down tomorrow. No flights in or out. The hurricane is supposed to hit sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Carlos! We are getting married in three days! You were supposed to be back here by now."

"I know Babe. I'm sorry. I'll get there. I'll drive if I have to. I'll drive to Atlanta and get a flight out. If not, I'll drive all the way. I'll leave tomorrow. I'll be back in plenty of time for the rehearsal."

"Oh my God! You better be back!"

"Babe, have I ever let you down? I'll be there. I have to go now. There are still some things that need to get done. Love you."

"Love you too." I said disappointedly.

"Babe. I'll be there." He said as he hung up.

I laid down and cried.

________________

It was Friday. The day of the rehearsal. The hurricane hit earlier than anticipated. I haven't heard from Ranger, and I had a feeling he didn't get out like he had planned. Cell phones weren't working. Email didn't work. Probably, because of the power outages. I didn't know where he was, if he was in route. I think he would call once he was out of Florida.

I packed our bags with Ella and Miranda's help. I had three people to pack for. I had no idea where we were going on our honeymoon but it must be some place warm. Miranda was packing shorts, sun dresses, swim suits, evening clothes, khakis and short sleeves shirts. I'm glad she knows. So I spent the time getting Ricky's things together. I packed an overnight case for Carlos, Ricky and me to take with me to New Brunswick.

I had picked up my dress and Julie's dress and other things from my parents' house when I dropped off the stuff for Ricky. He was staying with them for the first week of the honeymoon. Then Ranger's parents would take him.

I stopped and picked up Ranger and Ricky's tuxes. I couldn't believe how tiny Ricky's tux was. He was going to be so cute.

I grabbed our wedding rings and Ranger's wedding present out of the safe and put them in my purse along with the marriage license, so I wouldn't forget them. I had a box with the other things; my slippers, necklace, earrings and bracelet, garters. Necklace and slippers for Julie. Ranger had gotten the guys engraved beer steins and an electronic device charging valet, the cake top and knife for cutting the cake, the engraved glasses, the wedding favors, the programs, the guest book and pen and the floating candles for the fountain in the reception hall.

I was going to take the Crossfire, but realized that everything wouldn't fit. I took everything down and put it in the SUV. I folded the back seat down so my dress could lay flat and not get too wrinkled. I had given my parents the car seat for Ricky when I dropped him off.

It was time to leave for New Brunswick and I still hadn't heard from Ranger. I tried calling him but got the message that he wasn't in an area that could receive a signal. That could only mean he was still in Florida. I was getting more and more antsy.

Mary Lou was going to drive with me. Lenny and the boys would drive up tomorrow for the wedding. I went to pick her up.

"Have you heard from Carlos?" She asked when she got in the car.

I just shook my head.

"He'll be there." She said.

I was beginning to doubt it. All my past relationships failed. Why wouldn't this one? Maybe this was Ranger's way of getting out of it. Maybe that is why he planned the office reviews at this time. Thoughts were racing through my head so fast I couldn't come up with reasons to counter them.

Mary Lou tried to keep my mind off Ranger. She filled me in on the latest Burg gossip. Joe was seeing someone new. He was seen at a nightclub a couple of days ago. That didn't make me feel any better. Joe never took me out to a nightclub. He always told me that he hated them. Again, there must be something wrong with me. The men in my life have always treated me differently. And not in a good way. I evidently couldn't keep the Dick satisfied. Joe didn't want to be seen out in public with me. And Ranger, did he change his mind about me? Was there something I did or didn't do?

I was driving myself insane with these thoughts and tried to listen to what Mary Lou was saying now that she wasn't talking about Joe or Ranger.

We arrived at the hotel. I checked in and we went up to the room that I would be sharing with Carlos. I hoped.

I called down to see if Barbara Ramon was available. She answered the phone and said we could come down. I collected the assortment of things to give her and we went down to meet with her.

I introduced Mary Lou to Barbara. I handed her the box and explained what everything was. She said that she would make sure that the cake top was put on the cake and that the knife was set out by the cake. The glasses would be at the head table. The wedding favors would be placed at each place. And she said she would make sure the candles got lit in the fountain. She said she would be there also when the florist arrived with the flowers. I thanked her and Mary Lou and I went to wait for the others to arrive.

_______________

We were at the church. Ranger hadn't shown up or called. I was pacing nervously. Tank, Bobby and Lester were on their phones trying to get a hold of Ranger or someone from either the Atlanta or Miami offices. They all looked at me and shook their heads.

Father John was waiting patiently. Just then my phone played the Batman theme. I grabbed it out of my purse.

"Carlos?"

"Hey Babe."

"Please tell me you are in New Jersey."

"Sorry, Babe. We are still in Florida."

"Florida?"

"A huge sink hole opened up on I-95, closing the northbound lanes. It took a while for emergency personnel to get to the location and a road crew to arrive to open up a passage way for us to use the southbound lanes. It seems everyone is heading north. Power is out Miami and it could be weeks before everything is restored. It could be a couple of hours before we get out of Florida."

"Oh my God! Ricardo Carlos Manoso, if you leave me standing at the altar, you are going to have to deal with Hurricane Stephanie!"

"Babe, I'll be there. We'll drive all night so we get there."

Everyone was looking at me.

"Maybe I'll just marry Lester instead."

Lester gave me a seductive smile and Tank smacked him in the head. I heard my mom say something that Joe wouldn't leave me standing at the altar. I chose to ignore her.

"Babe. I'll be there. I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too. Just get here in one piece." I said flatly. I closed my phone. I turned to look at everyone there. "If you will excuse me for a couple of minutes." I ran out of the church. I found a courtyard and I sank down on a bench and cried.

I felt someone sit down next to me. A hand rubbed my back. "Pumpkin, everything will be O.K." My dad said. I sat up and was engulfed in his arms. I sobbed on his shoulder and he held me and rocked me.

"Oh Dad-dy! Why d-do these th-things hap-pen to me?"

"What things?" He asked.

"Why do the men in m-my li-fe dump me? I couldn't s-satis-fy Dic-kie. Joe d-didn't w-want to b-be se-en in p-public w-with me and now Car-los is go-ing to lea-ve me st-and-ing at th-the al-tar." I sobbed.

"Why do you think Carlos is going to leave you at the altar?"

"Be-cause. He sh-should h-have b-been he-re."

"Steph. Carlos loves you. And he is going to be here."

"He is s-still in Flo-ri-da." I continued to sob.

"If he has to go through hell or high water. He will be here." He said. He continued to hold me and my crying started to stop. We sat there in the dark. When my crying finally stopped, he said. "Why don't you go back inside, splash some cold water on your face? I'll let everyone know that you are O.K. and then we will get the show on the road. We'll have Albert step in for Carlos."

I laughed a little bit at that. "Thank you, Daddy." I said. I kissed him on the cheek. He helped me up and held my hand as we made our way to the entrance. I quickly slipped into the bathroom. Oh my God! I looked frightful. I did my best with some damage control. My eyes were all puffy and bloodshot. If Ranger saw me like this, he would high tail it back to Miami, power or no power.

I walked back into the sanctuary. Everyone turned to look at me. Tank and Lula gave me a smile. "Sorry about that. Let's get this rehearsal started. I'm starting to get hungry." If they only knew that the thought of food was making my stomach queasy. But I was trying to put on a brave front.

I got the unity candle out and took it to the altar. I gave the programs to Val. Angie and Mary Alice were going to hand them out to everybody at the door. I hope that didn't cause any ill will with any of Ranger's nieces and nephews. Then I realized that we didn't account for ushers. So I quickly consulted with Ranger's sisters. It was agreed that Ernesto's daughter, Cara and Celia's oldest son, Roberto would act as ushers. His two other nieces, Melissa and Rebecca would handle greeting the guest as they arrive and have them sign the guest book. The other nieces and nephews were too young. So that should make everyone happy. Problem solved.

We went through the ceremony two times. Everything that is, except the vows. Ranger and I wrote our own vows. I gave the rings to Tank for safe keeping. That was one less thing for me to worry about. I gave the marriage license to Father John. He will have us sign it at the appropriate time.

With the rehearsal over, we headed to the hotel. Ranger's parents decided that it would be easier to have the rehearsal dinner there. I was all for that.

________________

**Ranger's POV**

I just hung up from talking to Steph. I could feel her disappointment all the way here. I know that right now she is crying. Her heart breaking. I know that she is thinking I am standing her up. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I feel like crap that I am making her cry.

I should have left like I had planned. But no. Carlos Manoso just had to be a hero and help fish out some kids that were swept by some rushing water. Their family van stalled out in some deep water. The father didn't realize how deep it was. They were walking to higher ground, when one of the boys slipped and fell and started to float away. The older boy tried to grab him and he too slipped and fell and floated away in the current. The father was trying desperately to save them, but he had the little girl in his arms.

We were on our way back from picking up Julie, Rachel and her family. They were going to stay at the RangeMan building in my apartment until the power was restored. RangeMan has generators to supply power to keep the computers going. Chuck and Justin were in one SUV and Derrick and I were in another. We stopped and managed to get to the boys and carry them to safety.

"I really need to get back to Trenton tonight." I said to Julie, Rachel and Ron. Julie's half brother and sister were asleep in the third row seats of the SUV.

"Carlos, you can't drive yourself back to New Jersey and still be awake for your own wedding. You need to get some sleep. You are exhausted as it is. You have only been getting a few hours of sleep here and there." Rachel said from the middle row seats she was sharing with Julie. Ron was sitting shotgun.

"You don't understand. Steph is thinking that I am standing her up. She may be tough as nails when it comes to a skip, but she is very vulnerable when it comes to relationships. Her first marriage was a fiasco." I could bite my tongue at what I just said. What did that say about my first marriage to Rachel? "Her relationship with Morelli wasn't much better. Then we got together and I had to go off on a mission. I came back to find out I am a father again. She still questions why I am with her. Whether I am only with her and marrying her because of Ricky." Damn, there I go again. "She was still questioning it when she had the miscarriage. If I don't get back there in time, it will cause irreparable harm and I don't think I'll be able to fix it."

"Pull over." Rachel said.

"What?"

"I said pull over."

I pulled over to the side of the road. "Rachel, I need to get you and your family to RangeMan, so Julie and I can get to New Jersey and my wedding."

"We are going to New Jersey with you. Ron and I are going to drive all night and you and Julie are going to sleep."

"Rachel."

"No, you listen to me, Carlos. I owe Stephanie a debt of gratitude for what she did for Julie. The least I can do is get her man back to her so they can get married."

"Thank you, Rachel."

"Don't thank me yet. We have several hundreds of miles to drive and eight states to get through."

Ron got behind the wheel first. I slipped in back by Julie, who just sat there and listened intently as the adults talked. Rachel got in front.

"Dad?" Julie said softly.

"Yeah, Julie?"

"Do you think that Steph will be mad at you if you don't make it back in time?"

"I know she will be upset. We planned this wedding and because of macho stupidity I may have caused her to be humiliated in front of her friends and family. You can't just reschedule a wedding."

"What if she wants nothing to do with you?" She said softly. Anxiety was in her voice.

"I don't know, Carina. I don't know. I just hope I can get there in time." I said. "But don't let that bother you. I am sure that you and Steph will still talk and you can still come up to see Ricky from time to time. It's just that I probably won't be there."

"Where would you go?"

"I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Now get some sleep. You will be dancing and having fun with your cousins tomorrow night at this time."

Julie nodded her head and tried to get comfortable in her seat. She closed her eyes.

It was a long time before I closed my eyes and finally got some much needed sleep too.

________________

**Steph's POV**

With the rehearsal dinner over, everyone started to head to their respective rooms. I got cornered by Ernesto. I had been trying to avoid him all night. I knew he was eating this all up with Ranger not being here.

"So, my little brother is finally waking up and realizing the whore that you are." He said smiling.

"Ernesto. I don't know what your problem is. But I don't need your crap right now. Why don't you go home?"

"What and miss the show? Not on your life. I want to see the look on your face when you realize that Carlos isn't going to marry you. I want to be there to tell my family that I was right and that you are nothing but a cheap whore, who seduced my brother and tried to pawn off her bastard son as his."

"Why do you hate me so? What did I ever do to you?"

"Why do I hate you? Because of your little scam. Trying to get in the family and then get to the family money. I know your type. I've had my share of tramps just like you. Oh, you're good in bed, but you are only after one thing. Money. And lots of it. You latched yourself to Carlos because he has millions."

"I don't want Carlos' money. I just want Carlos."

"Yeah, yeah. So you say."

"Ernesto, what the fuck!" Tank said.

I turned around to see Tank, Lester and Bobby. If looks could kill, Ernesto would be dead.

"Oh boy, the cavalry has arrived. Coming to the whore's defense? You guys are probably fucking her too."

"That is enough!" Tank boomed. "You better get your ass as far away from here before Ranger gets here. Because when he gets wind of what you just said to his woman, you are going to wish you were dead."

"And who is going to tell him? The whore? You Pierre?--" He didn't get to finish. A fist smashed into Ernesto's face. I heard his nose break and blood started spurting out. There were loud gasps and I looked around and noticed that Ranger's family had gathered around and took in the scene. I'm sure they heard every word.

"I will." I turned to see who said that. It was Shantel. "You bastard. You've treated Stephanie like this because she wouldn't give you the time of day. You wanted her. Admit it. And because she blew you off, you tried to poison the rest of the family against her. And then when that wasn't working, you tried to plant seeds of doubt into Carlos' head. But that didn't work either. So you just kept degrading her to her face instead. Trying to make her think that the rest of the family thought the same way you did."

"Shantel. You know that's not true." Ernesto said in a nasal voice. He was holding his nose with his hands. Someone handed him some napkins.

"What, that you wanted her? Or that she isn't a whore?" Shantel sneered. "I heard you on the phone talking to one of your buddies the night we first met Stephanie. You said she was so hot you wanted to be inside her. This isn't the first time. I am sure there have been others, only you probably got your wish with the rest of them. I'm filing for divorce. I want you moved out of the house when I get home on Sunday." She turned on her heels and stormed out of the room shaking her hand that she used to smash his nose in.

I looked around at everybody. "I-I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I-I shou--" I couldn't believe that this was happening. I just wanted this nightmare to be over.

"Stephanie! Stop! It's not your fault!" Ricardo shouted at me. "We could see this coming before you even made your presence known to us. Ernesto had this coming to him. If he has been cheating on Shantel, then he deserves what he gets."

"Stephanie." Maria came over and took me in her arms. "We all love you. You didn't do anything wrong. Carlos loves you and he will be here tomorrow. And as far as Shantel and Ernesto divorcing, that isn't your fault. You didn't encourage Ernesto and now we know why he was so mean to you and Ricky."

"I can't believe this is happening. This is supposed to be a happy occasion. I am supposed to be happy. Then why am I so miserable? Why does this always happen to me? Whe-re is m-my h-happy ever af-ter?" I was sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone was looking at each other. No one knew what to do.

"Hey look! There's Batman!" Lula shouted pointing to the TV in the bar.

We all crowded around. Everyone let me get to the front. Tank asked the bartender to turn the volume up.

"I'm here in Miami. There is devastation all around here. But there are heroes among us. Four men risked their lives today to save two boys, who were swept away by rushing water when the family van stalled out in the deep water. The men in black came out of nowhere and jumped in the rushing water. We just got here when it all happened and our camera man got the action on tape." The reporter said.

They went to the tape that was filmed. I saw Ranger and three other men, who I assumed were Merry Men for the Miami office, jump in to rescue the two boys.

The father took the boys out of the arms of the men and then he hugged and shook the hands of Ranger and the Merry Men to thank them for saving his boys. The camera swung over to show a mother kneeling down and hugging her two sons as a little girl stood next to her.

"We wanted to get the men on camera and interview them about their heroic efforts, but they refused to comment. All they said was they were glad they were at the right place at the right time. They climbed back into their SUV's and drove off. Probably to help rescue someone else. I'm Cindy Reynolds, reporting live from Miami, Florida. Back to you." The reporter signed off. The film continued playing showing the men getting into their SUV's.

"We are told that the men work for the security company, RangeMan, Inc., which is located here in Miami. A statement from a spokesperson for the company said that 'they were glad they were able to assist and prevent a tragedy from occurring'." The anchorperson said.

I turned and looked at everyone. Ranger was a hero. But then he has always been a hero to me. I guess I could forgive him. "If he hadn't been there, those two boys may not be alive tonight." I said. There were nods from those that were gathered with me. "I guess if he is late getting back here, I can forgive him. He is a hero. Although he will probably deny it."

I got hugs from everyone. We headed for the elevators. Mary Lou offered to stay with me tonight, but I told her I would be O.K. She is sharing a room with Connie until tomorrow night. I got off on the 7th floor and said goodnight to those that were in the elevator with me. My parents were keeping Ricky for the night. I unlocked the door. I went over to the bed and laid down. I cried until there were no tears left.

**TBC Chapter 35 - A Day At The Spa**

**NOTE:** The hurricane scenarios such as the hurricane changing direction after hitting Cancun and heading for Miami and the huge sink hole on I-95 actually happened in October 2005 with Hurricane Wilma. I unfortunately was in Walt Disney World when Hurricane Wilma hit Florida. Walt Disney World became crowded toward the end of our stay because people from Miami had headed north to stay at various hotels, motels, and resorts until the electricity could be restored in the Miami area. Whereas the Orlando area was hit with just the outer edges of the hurricane it was still sort of scary to be there for that. Especially after what happened in New Orleans earlier that year. But now I can say I experienced a hurricane. Something I don't think I want to repeat.


	35. Chapter 35

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 35  
****A Day At The Spa**

I woke up the next morning to someone knocking on the door. I got up. I was still dressed in the clothes I had on yesterday. I went to the door. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Room service." A voice on the other side of the door called out.

"I didn't order room service."

"This is Room 715?"

"Yes."

"Then this is the right room. I have a note." The waiter said.

I opened the door and he handed me a note. The word 'Babe' was written across the envelope in Ranger's handwriting. I quickly took the note and opened it.

**Babe,**

**I hope you will enjoy your breakfast****..****There will be a limo downstairs at 9:00 a.m. to take you and the bridesmaids and anybody else you would like to go along, whether it is our moms, grandmas, sisters or sister-in-law, to the spa for some well deserved pampering. I hope it will help you relax. I know you are on pins and needles anticipating our wedding and whether I will get there in time. After the pampering and lunch, the limo will take you to the salon for hair and make-up appointments. The limo will then take you to the church. Remember Babe, no price. Have as much as you want done. Anything. Massage, waxing, mud wraps, manicure and/or pedicure whatever you want. I love you and can't wait for you to become my wife. Don't worry Babe, I'll be there. **

**Love always,  
****Carlos**

**  
**Oh my God! It was his writing. He had to have done this while on his way here. Or did he do this all before he left Miami? If he has left. Should I try and call him? I started eating before it got cold while I contemplated if I should try and call him. He had ordered pancakes and eggs for me with bacon. There were cinnamon muffins, orange juice and coffee. I decided to try and call him. I picked up my phone and hit #1 on speed dial. The phone rang and he answered.

"Yo, Babe."

"Carlos." I cried out, my voice cracking.

"Did you get your breakfast?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you. How did you do that? I mean the note."

"Fed Ex. I sent it when I knew I wouldn't get back there. Surprisingly, Fed Ex was able to get through the storm."

"Maybe you should have shipped yourself here overnight. Where are you?"

"I think we are in North Carolina. It took us almost all night to get out of Florida. I couldn't believe the traffic. It's taken me less than 20 hours to get from Florida to New Jersey in the past. Today we only got as far as North Carolina. It is getting easier now that traffic is getting lighter. But we are having nothing but rain as the remainder of the hurricane heads up the coast. Once everyone had gotten out of Florida, they started heading in different directions."

"Carlos you are going be exhausted when you get here. Maybe you should pull over and get some sleep."

"It's O.K. Babe. I'm not doing all the driving."

"Carlos, Julie isn't old enough to drive."

"She isn't. I have two other people with me and they have been doing most of the driving. They switch driving when we stop to eat or use the bathroom."

"Oh. Well that's good. I was afraid that you would fall asleep while driving and end up in an accident."

"I've driven all the way to and from Miami before, Babe. Remember when I found you in my apartment when the Slayers were after you? I had just driven all the way from Miami to Trenton."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. Hurry home."

"I'll be there. I love you."

"Love you, too."

He hung up. I finished eating and jumped in the shower for a quick shower and got a change of clothes. I felt better after having talked to him. I forgot to mention that I saw him on the nightly news. Maybe I'll tell him if I talk to him again.

I went to my parents room across the hall. I needed to spend some time with Ricky before the limo came. I told my parents about the room service and the note and phone call. My dad gave me the 'I told you so' look. I called the girls and told them about the limo and the day at the spa. They were excited. I called Ranger's mom and told her about my surprise this morning. I asked if she wanted to join us at the spa. She politely declined. Val, Grandma and my mom declined as well. I called Celia and asked her, she accepted. I then called Shantel. After what happened last night, I was afraid that she wouldn't speak to me. She accepted the invite. I called Ranger's other three sisters and they too accepted. They said that Ranger never did anything like this before and they were going to take full advantage of his generosity.

I had brought Ricky's tux to my parents' room. They would be bringing him to the church. I went to take Ranger's tux to Tank's room. I told him about the note and room service. He gave me a hug and told me that Ranger would get there in time. I gave him my keys to my SUV. I'm sure he'll have someone drive it home for me. Lula and I left to meet the limo downstairs. I stopped at my room to get Julie's and my dresses and other things to take to the church later.

We were in the lobby when this huge white Hummer stretch limo pulled up out in front. We just stared at it. The driver came in. "Is there a Stephanie Plum here?" He asked.

I meekly raised my hand and said "Here."

"My name is Phil. I'm to take you and your party to the spa. Is this everyone?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go. Your carriage awaits." He went out and opened the back and side doors to the limo so we could all get in. We laid out dresses on one of the seats. There was still plenty of room for us.

________________

We pulled up to a newer building in the outskirts of New Brunswick. A sign outside announced the _Peace and Serenity Day Spa. _We entered and were greeted by three workers.

"Are you Stephanie?" The woman in the blue smock with the name tag and read Tiffany asked.

"Yes, I am. These are my bridesmaids and my soon to be sisters-in-law." I said pointed to the group.

"I'm Tiffany. This is Sara. And this is Hannah. We will be working with you today. We will let you look over our services. You can choose any package that we offer and add to it."

I looked over the packages. They had a bridal package that included hair and make-up, but I knew Ranger had pick out another salon for those things. I choose the custom package which consisted of a 60 minute massage therapy, manicure, pedicure and facial. I had already had a bikini wax and had my legs and underarms waxed, so I didn't need those. Mary Lou chose the same package, so we would be together. Lula chose the same package but added the bikini waxing. Connie chose the same package but added the lip and brow waxing.

Celia just chose the manicure, pedicure and facial. Shantel chose the manicure and facial. Alana chose the massage therapy and manicure and facial. Katarina and Josephina chose the massage therapy, manicure and pedicure.

Tiffany took us into the locker room where she handed out robes and slippers for us to wear. Then they divided us up. Those of us getting facials where taken into one room. Manicures and pedicures into another room. The massages were last. Lunch was included in the packages.

_________________

Lunch consisted of chicken salad or tuna salad sandwiches on whole wheat, fruit cocktail, iced tea or water and mini tarts for dessert. After we ate those of us getting massages left to get them. The others said they were going to take a walk.

We all met up in the reception area of the spa. The massage was great it really helped to relieve some of the tension I had been feeling the last couple of days. I was hoping that the rest will go away once Ranger got here. Maybe tonight he will be willing to ease away the tension, although his technique would be different.

The limo pulled up and we all piled in. Only the bridesmaids and I were going to the salon for our hair and make-up. Everyone else would go back to the hotel to get ready.

The limo dropped us off at _Michael Christensen Hair Studio._ I took my veil off the seat. I would have them attach it to my head. Phil said he would be back by 4:00 p.m. It was 2:00 p.m. now.

Cheri was my stylist. She asked how I wanted my hair and I told her that I wanted it down but wanted the curls softer. She started with washing and conditioning my hair. Then she trimmed the ends a little. She rolled my hair up in some medium sized rollers. I went to sit under the hair dryer.

When my hair was dry they moved me to the make-up area. There they did my eyes in soft smoky eye shadows of gray with a hint of purple. It made my blue eyes stand out. She added some eye liner and waterproof mascara. It least I hope it was waterproof. I am sure there would be tears of some sort later. Whether they are going to be the happy kind, the sad kind or the angry kind, I didn't know. Time will tell. My cheeks were done in a rosy mauve blush. My lips where done in a similar color with a coat of gloss.

Then I moved back to the chair and the rollers were removed. Cheri styled my hair and used almost a whole can of hairspray to keep it in place. My hair fell in nice waves. She then attached my veil with bobby pins and the attached combs. Then I was done.

I turned to look at Connie, Lula and Mary Lou. They just stared at me.

"What? What's wrong. What's happened?" I said thinking that while I was in my own little world they had heard something about Ranger.

"Steph, you look fabulous." Mary Lou finally said.

"Batman is going to have a heart attack when he sees you." Lula said.

"Thanks Lula. Just what I want to hear." I said.

"I think she means that Ranger isn't going to know what hit him when he sees you." Connie explained.

I turned to look in the mirror. Wow. I did look good. Better than good. The limo pulled up outside and we got inside. We pulled up at St. John the Baptist Church. Father John met us at the door and led us to the room that we would use to get ready.

I was fully dressed when there was a knock on the door. Mary Lou went to answer it. She opened it a crack and when she saw who it was she opened the door fully. It was Maria. She stepped inside and looked at me and stopped.

"Oh my, Stephanie. You look . . . you look. I don't think there are any words that can describe how you look, my dear. Breathtaking is the only word I can think of."

She came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Carlos is a lucky man." She said.

"Have you heard from him?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Sorry." She said. "I just wanted to tell you that the flowers are here. Do you know who gets what?"

"Yes I think so."

Maria, Celia and Alana helped passing out the flowers. Maria brought us our bouquets. I told her which corsages where for the mothers and grandmas. The rest were for the sisters and sister-in-law.

Celia came in with a box that had the boutonnieres. I point out the one that was for Ranger, the three that went to the Merry Men and the two for the fathers. The others were for Ernesto and the brothers-in-law. Ricky didn't get one. I was afraid he would eat it.

"I don't think Ernesto will be coming for the wedding. A) his nose is broke and he has two black eyes. B) he knows he is not wanted here." Celia said.

"It's not that he's not wanted. But he isn't very nice when he is around me." I said. "I don't want Carlos to kill him if Ernesto should say something like he did last night. It is a good thing that Carlos wasn't here. I don't want to spend my wedding night in jail waiting to get my husband bonded out. Then I am sure that we wouldn't be able to go on our honeymoon."

"Well, the family made it perfectly clear to him last night that he should stay away. We didn't want your beautiful wedding ruined because of him." Celia said.

She left to go and pin on the boutonnieres on the men. There was another knock on the door. Mary Lou went to answer it again. She opened it a crack and then opened it wider. Tank walked in.

"Oh God!" I said as a sob.

"It's O.K. Bombshell." He said noticing my panicked state.

"What is it then?" I asked. "Did you hear from him?"

"Sorry." He said and my face fell. "Hey, he'll be here. You have another hour to go yet."

"I would have thought that he would have called or something."

"I'm sure he is just as anxious as you. I need to borrow Lula for a bit. And damn Bombshell, you look wonderful. If Ranger doesn't get his ass here, I just might marry you myself." Tank said. Lula stood up, she hit him in the arm. He laughed and took her hand and they both left.

I started pacing. I couldn't sit. I was afraid I would wrinkle the dress. It was hard to pace with a train. Lula came back.

"The church is starting to fill up. There are some of the Merry Men in tuxes at the door checking invites. Batman was serious when he said he was going to have security." She said. Thank God we didn't have to worry about Jensen anymore.

There was another knock on the door. Connie was closest this time. She opened the door a crack and my mom came in with Ricky. "Mumum".

"He was asking for you." My mom said. Then she stopped and looked at me. "Oh Stephanie. You look absolutely radiant."

"Thank you, Mom." I said as I took Ricky from her. I went over to the other side of the room and talked to Ricky. I didn't see the look she gave the girls silently asking if I heard from Ranger. They all shook their heads.

"Angie and Mary Alice are doing a good job handing out the programs. Val is keeping an eye on them." My mom said. "And Carlos' nieces, Melissa and Rebecca are making sure everyone signs the guest book. And from what I could see, Cara and Roberto are handling the guests." She continued.

I continued to talk to Ricky. I pulled a book out of my tote bag and I read it to him.

Just then the door flew open.

**TBC Chapter 26 - The Wedding**


	36. Chapter 36

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman!  
****By JayCee08**

**Chapter 36  
****The Wedding  
**

A female version of Ranger came racing into the room. "Hi, Steph." Julie cried.

"Please tell me your dad is here."

"Yep, he's here. We stopped at the hotel first so we could take a quick shower." She said. She grabbed her dress. I noticed her hair was damp. I gave her the necklace and earrings.

"Thanks, Steph." She said.

"I have the slippers for you to wear at the reception. I'll keep them with mine."

There was a knock on the door again. Connie went and checked to see who it was. She opened the door to let whoever it was in.

"Hi Stephanie. I hope I am not intruding."

"Rachel?" I said shocked.

"Yeah. Ron and I drove Carlos and Julie up here. I hope you don't mind if we crash your wedding?"

"No, not at all. Thank you. I've been on pins and needles all day."

"I am sure you were. Carlos wasn't much better. I don't think I have ever seen him this nervous." Rachel said as she helped Julie get dressed.

"Carlos? Nervous?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. I don't know how many times he checked the time. He checked the clock in the SUV. He checked his phone. He even called to get the time." Julie said.

"Oh, forgive me. Rachel, I'd like you to meet my mother, Helen Plum. Mom, this is Rachel, Julie's mom." I didn't want to say Ranger's ex wife. "Over there are Lula, Mary Lou and Connie. And this is Ricky." I said as I hefted Ricky on my hip.

"Pleased to meet all of you. I'm glad I can put faces to the names. Julie has mentioned all of you. And I am glad to finally meet Ricky. Can I hold him?" Rachel asked.

"Sure." I said as I handed Ricky to her.

"Aren't you the little man all decked out in your little tux? You're a miniature version of your daddy." She said to Ricky. "He looks a lot like Carlos. I love his curls." She said to me. "You look absolutely stunning, Stephanie. Carlos is a lucky man."

"I'm the lucky one." I said. "Can you do me a quick favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" She asked.

"Can you see if the guys are ready?"

"Of course." She said as she handed Ricky back to me. "Is he going to escort you down the aisle?" She asked.

"No. My dad is going to do it."

"I'll be right back." She slipped out the door.

"See we told you Batman would make it." Lula said. Just then there was another knock on the door. Lula answered it. It was Val.

"Wow, Steph. You look wonderful. Julie, I see you made it. I hope that means the groom is here too." Val said.

"Yes, he is finally here." I said.

"Well, good. The guests are starting to get restless. I came to get Ricky." She picked him up. "Give Mommy a kiss. You'll see her shortly."

I gave my little boy a kiss. "Mumum." Ricky said. Val opened the door and my dad was standing there with his fist up ready to knock.

"Pumpkin." My dad said at a loss for words. I smiled at him. "Carlos is ready. Are you ready to get married?"

"Yes, Daddy. Julie are you all set?"

"Yeah, Steph. Let's go and get married."

"Stephanie. I can see that Carlos truly loves you. And you love him. I wish you nothing but happiness." My mom said.

I was totally shocked. This was coming from the woman who just last night said the Joe wouldn't have left me standing at the altar. "Thanks Mom. You better go. You need to get seated before the rest of us can go down the aisle."

"Right." She said and she walked out. We grabbed our bouquets and checked to make sure we had everything.

"Ready?" My dad said.

I nodded my head.

_______________

**Ranger's POV**

We got to the New Jersey border. Time seemed to slow down. It seemed to take forever to get there. I've never been this antsy before. Maybe because I wasn't driving. I wasn't in control.

We stopped at the hotel. I went to get a quick shower. Rachel and Ron and their kids quickly changed into something more suitable for a wedding then the shorts and T-shirts they were wearing. Julie, I assume, was getting dressed at the church like I was.

We arrived at the church. Julie jumped out and quickly ran into the church. I was next. Bobby and Lester were talking with Hal and Junior when I walked in.

"Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't show so I could marry Bombshell." Lester said smiling.

"Watch it, Santos." I growled. I nodded to my men and went to the door that Bobby had indicated was where the men were getting ready. I rushed in.

"'Bout time, Boss." Tank said. He indicated the tux that was hanging on a hook. I immediately pulled my shirt off and started to get dressed. "Hey, they can't start without you. So take your time." Tank said.

"You got the rings?" I asked.

Tank patted his pocket. "Right here."

"Did Steph bring the marriage license?"

"She gave it to Father John last night."

"What about security?"

"Got a man at each entrance. They are dressed in tuxes so they blend in."

I nodded my head.

"It was Steph's idea."

I smiled. My Babe.

"She also picked your niece, Cara, and nephew, Roberto, to act as ushers for the guests. Melissa and Rebecca are in charge of the guest book. And Mary Alice and Angie are handing out the programs."

"Programs? I didn't know that this was a show."

"It's so everyone can follow along. Steph made them up. It has the names of the songs. The prayers are written out. The bible verses that are being read. The names of everybody participating. That sort of thing."

I couldn't get my tie tied. Tank came over to assist. He was laughing.

"Shut up." I said.

"I didn't say a word."

Bobby walked in followed by Lester. "All set Boss?" Bobby asked. I put on my jacket and buttoned the button.

"The girls are all set to go." Lester said.

"I want to thank you guys." I began. "Thank you for watching over Steph and Ricky. I'm sure she was a basket case the last couple of days."

"She held it together. Last night was hard. And Ernesto didn't help matters." Tank said.

I stiffened at the thought of what he did or said to my Babe.

"Bombshell, was quite deflated with you not here and after her run in with Ernesto. But then she saw you on the news. She was glad that you were able to save those two boys. She came to the realization that if you hadn't been there, they probably wouldn't be alive today. You are a hero in her eyes." Bobby said.

I nodded my head. My Babe has always looked at me as a hero. "Thanks. I also want to thank you for being my friends. I don't know how I would have gotten RangeMan to where it is today without all of you. I can't think of three men I would rather have stand beside me as I marry the love of my life."

"Hey, we got your back." Lester said.

"And don't worry about Ernesto. He won't be here today. He's sportin' a broken nose and two black eyes from what I hear. And Shantel is filing for divorce on Monday."

Tank said. "We'll fill you in later, but right now you need to get your ass in the sanctuary."

Rachel popped her head in. "Steph asked me to see if you are ready."

"You can tell her that we are." I said. She left.

"Come on Ranger. Bombshell is waiting for you." Tank said.

We slapped each other on the backs as we hugged. Tank and I headed to the door we were going to enter through. Bobby and Lester went to escort the mothers to their pews.

The music started to play. Tank and I walked into the sanctuary with Father John. The sanctuary was to be lit with candles. Candelabras lined the aisle. They were spaced every fourth pew. The candelabras where wrought iron and had flowers attached with white bows. The pews that didn't have the candle at the end had bows in black and white. Cara and Roberto were lighting them as we entered.

Tank and I took our place. Ricky was sitting with Val. He saw me and started calling. "Dada. Dada.". I went and took him from Val and went back over to Tank. It had been two weeks since I saw him. Steph had said he was calling for me. I held Ricky and talked to him as the door opened and Bobby and my mom followed by my dad made their way to the front of the church. I pointed them out to Ricky. He said 'Abla' and 'Ablo'. They walked down the aisle and up to the altar where they lit my family candle. Then Bobby escorted them to their pew and joined us standing in front.

The door opened again and Lester and Mrs. Plum walked in. I pointed her out to Ricky. He said 'Gamma'. Lester escorted Mrs. Plum up to the altar. She lit the family candle for Steph. Then Lester escorted her to her pew and joined us.

The music changed and the doors opened. Connie was first to walk down the aisle. She was then followed by Mary Lou. Lula was next. When they took their places they smiled at me holding Ricky. I told Ricky who they were. Mary Lou was 'Lu', Connie was 'Nee', Lula was 'Lulu'.

The doors opened again and Julie walked down the aisle. Ricky called out 'Lee'. I told him he had to be quiet. He looked at me and pointed 'Lee' he said again. I told him "Yes that's Julie."

The music changed again. And everyone stood up. I handed Ricky to my mom as I got ready to meet my bride. The doors opened and there she was. She took my breath away. She stood there with her dad for a beat and then they preceded down the aisle. I could see tears sliding quietly down her beautiful face. When she got to me, I stepped over to her and I cupped her face in my hands and brushed the tears off her face with my thumbs. "I'm here, Babe." And I brushed her lips softly with mine. "Let's get married." I whispered. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze of encouragement. Ricky called to her 'Mumum'. Steph stop and touched his nose with her finger and gave him a smile. She handed her bouquet to Lula. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze of encouragement and we continued to the altar.

"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here this day to witness in joy, the union of Carlos and Stephanie." Father John began.

The ceremony continued. Mary Lou got up to give the first reading from I Corinthians 13:4-8. "Love is patient, Love is kind; it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, Love is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, love does not keep a record of wrongs; love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Love never fails." Mary Lou returned to her place.

Then the choir sang the first song, _Everything I Do, I Do It For You. _I squeezed Steph's hand. The song said everything. How I felt about her and how I would do anything for her.

_**Look into my eyes you will see  
**__**What you mean to me  
**__**Search your heart search your soul  
**__**And when you find me there you'll search no more  
**__**Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
**__**You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for  
**__**You know it's true  
**__**Everything I do I do it for you**_

I told her to stop listening to the Burg and listen to her heart.

_**Look into your heart you will find  
**__**There's nothin' there to hide  
**__**Take me as I am take my life  
**__**I would give it all I would sacrifice  
**__**Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for  
**__**I can't help it there's nothin' I want more  
**__**Ya know it's true  
**__**Everything I do I do it for you**_

She accepted me as I am. I would sacrifice anything for her. I told her that there was no price.

_**There's no love like your love  
**__**And no other could give more love  
**__**There's nowhere unless you're there  
**__**All the time all the way  
**_

_**Oh you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
**__**I can't help it there's nothin' I want more  
**__**I would fight for you I'd lie for you  
**__**Walk the wire for you Ya I'd die for you  
**__**Ya know it's true  
**__**Everything I do I do it for you**_

I've fought for her. I've lied for her. I'd die for her. Everything I did and will do, I do it for her.

Connie got up to give the next reading from Genesis 2:18,21-24. "God said, 'It is not good for man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.'. . .Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. Then the man said, 'At last, here is one of my own kind–Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. Woman is her name because she was taken out of man.' That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife and they become one." Connie concluded, and returned to her place.

Then the choir sang _All I Ask Of You._ During the song, Steph and I went to light our candle. Again the words were fitting.

_**No more talk of darkness,  
**__**forget these wide-eyed fears;  
**__**I'm here, nothing can harm you,  
**__**my words will warm and calm you.**_

She took away my darkness. I would let nothing harm her or Ricky.

_**Let me be your freedom,  
**__**let daylight dry your tears;  
**__**I'm here, with you, beside you,  
**__**to guard you and to guide you.**_

I would be there to calm her and dry her tears.

_**Say you'll love me ev'ry waking moment;  
**__**turn my head with talk of summertime.  
**__**Say you need me with you now and always;  
**__**promise me that all you say is true,  
**__**that's all I ask of you.**_

I love her and need her now and always.

_**Let me be your shelter,  
**__**let me be your light;  
**__**you're safe, no one will find you,  
**__**your fears are far behind you.**_

I would always be her shelter and will keep her safe. She will always be my light.

_**All I want is freedom,  
**__**a world with no more night;  
**__**and you, always beside me,  
**__**to hold me and to hide me.**_

I will not confine her. I will always be beside, to hold her.

_**Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;  
**__**let me lead you from your solitude.  
**__**Say you need me with you, here beside you,  
**__**anywhere you go, let me go too,  
**__**that's all I ask of you.**_

She is my one love and I will gladly share one lifetime with her. She took me from my lonely life. Anywhere I go she will be with me.

_**Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime.  
**__**Say the word and I will follow you.  
**__**Share each day with me, each night, each morning.  
**__**Say you love me...  
**__**You know I do.  
**__**Love me, that's all I ask of you.  
**__**Anywhere you go let me go too  
**__**Love me...  
**__**that's all I ask of you.**_

Then it was time for the vows.

"Carlos, will you take Stephanie as your wife. Will you share with her, be open and honest with her, comfort her, support her, and give her strength?" Father John said.

"I will." I said.

"Stephanie, will you take Carlos as your husband. Will you share with him, be open and honest with him, comfort him, support him, and give him strength?"

"I will." She said.

Father John asked for the rings. He blessed them. "Stephanie and Carlos have written their own vows."

"Stephanie, there was darkness for a long time and then there was light, and that light was you. As our journey begins today, I pledge before our family and friends to be your faithful loving husband. Let us make our two lives one. To live together side by side, work together side by side, love each other side by side. I love you today, tomorrow and always. Please take this ring as a symbol of my undying love." I said. I took the ring and placed it on her finger. A tear slipped down Steph's face. I brushed it away.

"Carlos, I never thought I would ever find someone as wonderful as you to love me. Your love has given me wings and lets me fly. Today I am marrying my best friend, my mentor, my protector, my confidant, my hero and my lover. I give myself to you today as your wife. I promise you my love, support and care. My love is forever. I hope you will accept this ring as a symbol of my love." Steph said with a shaky voice. She placed the ring on my finger.

"In as much as Stephanie and Carlos have declared their love to each other before family and friends and before God. They have now joined together as one and are now husband and wife. You may kiss."

I took her in my arms and kissed her. I poured all my love into that kiss and I didn't care that we were in church. We had been separated for two weeks. I missed her and I knew that she needed the reassurance. We finally broke apart. Steph smiled at me. I took her hand and we turned to face our family and friends.

"Let me be the first to present to you, Carlos and Stephanie Manoso." Father John ended. The music started and we stopped at a small table where we picked up two red roses. Steph went over and presented the rose to my mother, who then gave her a hug and kiss and I went over and presented the rose to Mrs. Plum. I kissed her on the cheek. We stopped to get her bouquet from Lula and we walked up the aisle. Julie fell in behind us and she took Ricky from his grandparents and held his hand and they walked behind us.

We got to the back of the church. I pulled my wife into a small alcove, we held hands, our foreheads touching, our eyes closed. Just the two of us, savoring the moment. We were joined together, our hearts, our minds, our souls and our bodies. Julie and Ricky came over to us. I hugged Julie and picked Ricky up. I put my arm around Steph and pulled her close. She laid her head on my shoulder. She put her arm around Julie and pulled her in close. We just stood there, looking at each other. Here we were together, a family. Soon the bridal party had made their way out of the sanctuary. We went to form the receiving line.

________________

**Steph's POV**

My dad and I went to take our place waiting for our turn to walk down the aisle. I could see a little from my vantage point, but no one could see me. When the door opened, I saw Ranger, he was holding Ricky. He was talking to him and pointing to his parents. I could see Ricky pointing back and saying something. It filled my heart to see father and son together like that. I saw that Ranger did the same thing when my mom was escorted down to the front. He must be telling Ricky who everyone was and Ricky was responding back.

When the door closed after Julie made her way down the aisle, I heard Ricky shout 'Lee'. I was glad that he remembered who she was. I heard the chuckles from the guests. Then it was our turn. I smoothed out my dress. Cara made sure that the train was straight and that the ties of the sash were perfect. Then she and Roberto went to the doors and opened them.

The minute the doors opened, I had tears flowing down my face. I still had a smile on my face. I saw Ranger hand Ricky to his mom and he got ready to meet me. When I got up to him, he cupped my face in his hands and brushed the tears away with his thumbs. "I'm here, Babe." He said. And he gave me a soft kiss. "Let's get married." He whispered. I heard Ricky say 'Mumum'. I turned to Ricky and I touched his nose with my finger and I smiled at him. I handed my bouquet to Lula. Ranger took my hand and gave it a squeeze of encouragement and we continued to the altar.

"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here this day to witness in joy the union of Stephanie and Carlos." Father John began.

Mary Lou got up to give the first reading from I Corinthians 13:4-8. One of the songs that we picked out was _Everything I Do, I Do It For You. _I listened to the words and the song said everything. Ranger squeezed my hand. He felt it too.

_**Look into my eyes you will see  
**__**What you mean to me  
**__**Search your heart search your soul. . .**_

I stopped listening to the Burg and listened to my heart and searched my soul. I knew he was the one for me.

_**. . .Take me as I am take my life  
**__**I would give it all I would sacrifice  
**__**Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for. . .**_

I accepted him as he was. He wasn't going to change me and I wasn't going to change him. He made sacrifices for me. He even killed for me. I know that he would do everything in his power to keep Ricky and me from harm.

_**Oh you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
**__**I can't help it there's nothin' I want more  
**__**I would fight for you I'd lie for you  
**__**Walk the wire for you Ya I'd die for you  
**__**Ya know it's true  
**__**Everything I do I do it for you**_

He was worth fighting for, and I too, would do everything for him. I think I would even die for him.

The next reading from Genesis 2:18,21-24 and Connie walked up to give the reading. Ranger and I went to light our candle. The song we chose was _All I Ask Of You._ Again the words were fitting.

_**No more talk of darkness,  
**__**forget these wide-eyed fears;  
**__**I'm here, nothing can harm you,  
**__**my words will warm and calm you.**_

I know he wouldn't let nothing harm us.

_**Let me be your freedom,  
**__**let daylight dry your tears;  
**__**I'm here, with you, beside you,  
**__**to guard you and to guide you.**_

He was always there to calm me and dry my tears.

**Say you'll love me ev'ry waking moment;  
****turn my head with talk of summertime.  
****Say you need me with you now and always;  
****promise me that all you say is true,  
****that's all I ask of you.**

_**Let me be your shelter,  
**__**let me be your light;  
**__**you're safe, no one will find you,  
**__**your fears are far behind you.**_

He always was and will always be my shelter and will keep me safe.

_**All I want is freedom,  
**__**a world with no more night;  
**__**and you, always beside me,  
**__**to hold me and to hide me. . .**_

He will let me fly and have my freedom, even while keeping me safe.

_**. . . Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime;  
**__**let me lead you from your solitude.  
**__**Say you need me with you, here beside you,  
**__**anywhere you go, let me go too,  
**__**that's all I ask of you.**_

He was my one true love. He will always be beside me. Anywhere he goes, I will be with him. We will live one lifetime together.

When the song was over, Father John stood up. "Carlos, will you take Stephanie as your wife. Will you share with her, be open and honest with her, comfort her, support her, and give her strength?"

"I will." He said.

"Stephanie, will you take Carlos as your husband. Will you share with him, be open and honest with him, comfort him, support him, and give him strength?"

"I will." I said.

Father John asked for the rings. He blessed them. "Stephanie and Carlos have written their own vows."

"Stephanie, there was darkness for a long time and then there was light, and that light was you. As our journey begins today, I pledge before our family and friends to be your faithful loving husband. Let us make our two lives one. To live together side by side, work together side by side, love each other side by side. I love you today, tomorrow and always. Please take this ring as a symbol of my undying love." He said. He took the ring and placed it on my finger. A tear slipped down my face and he brushed it away. I smiled at him. He was always there for me. I know I will always be there for him.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. "Carlos, I never thought I would ever find someone as wonderful as you to love me. Your love has given me wings and lets me fly. Today I am marrying my best friend, my mentor, my protector, my confidant, my hero and my lover. I give myself to you today as your wife. I promise you my love, support and care. My love is forever. I hope you will accept this ring as a symbol of my love." I said. My voice was shaky. I placed the ring on his finger. I clasped his hand in mine to stop mine from shaking.

"In as much as Stephanie and Carlos have declared their love to each other before family and friends and before God. They have now joined together as one and are now husband and wife. You may kiss."

He took me in his arms and kissed me. He poured all his love into that kiss and I kissed him back with all my love. I didn't want it to end. We finally broke apart. I smiled at him. He took my hand and we turned to face our family and friends.

"Let me be the first to present to you, Carlos and Stephanie Manoso." Father John ended. The music started and Ranger and I picked up the red roses that were on the table. Then he helped me down the steps. I went over to his mom and handed her the rose. She gave me a huge hug and a kiss. Ranger went over to my mom and gave her the rose and a kiss on the cheek. We stopped to get my bouquet from Lula and we walked up the aisle. Julie fell in behind us and she took Ricky from Ranger's mom and held his hand and they walked behind us.

We got to the back of the church. Ranger pulled me into a small alcove with a stained-glass window, we held hands, our foreheads touching, our eyes closed. I was at peace. He was here. My hero. My Batman. We were joined together, our hearts, our minds, our souls and our bodies. Julie and Ricky came over to us. He hugged Julie and picked Ricky up. He put his arm around me and pulled me close. I laid my head on his shoulder. I put my arm around Julie and pulled her in close. We just stood there, looking at each other. Here we were together, a family. Not a traditional family, but a family just the same. There was a husband and a wife, a father and a mother, a son and a daughter and a brother and a sister. Soon the bridal party had made their way out of the sanctuary. We went to form the receiving line.

Joe stepped up to me when it was his turn. "I see he made it back. I heard that he got stuck with the hurricane and that he was a hero saving two boys."

"Yes."

"You look truly happy, Steph. I wish you the best."

I was stunned. "Thank you. I hope you find your happy ever after."

"I thought I did." He said as he walked away.

After the guests made it through the line, we went back inside the sanctuary. We had pictures that needed to be taken. We couldn't do it earlier like we had planned because Ranger wasn't there.

**TBC Chapter 37 - The Reception (The Finale)**

**NOTE: **Songs: _Everything I Do, I Do It For You_, music by Michael Kamen, lyrics by Bryan Adams from _Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves_ movie. _All I Ask Of You, _music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart from _The Phantom Of The Opera _musical.


	37. Chapter 37

They don't belong to me. I am just borrowing them for a while. A sequel to **Christmas Eve Visitor** and **Starting Our Life Together**. This story is fiction, any people, places or events that happen are not actually real or factual. Enjoy and please review.

**Holy Matrimony, Batman**!  
**By JayCee08**

**Chapter 37  
****The Reception**

After the pictures were all taken, we got in the limo. Champagne corks started popping. Lester and Bobby were pouring the golden liquid into flutes and passing them around to everyone. Once we all had a glass, Lester raised his and said "To Bossman and Bombshell." Everyone raised their glasses. "May they have a long lasting marriage and a love that never dies." Everyone drank to that.

I looked at Ranger and he at me. He leaned in and gave me a kiss. He broke the kiss and raised his glass. "To my beautiful wife. I'll love you til the end of time." I leaned in to kiss him.

Lula raised her glass. "To Batman and Wonder Woman. May they have lots of lovin' and lots of batbabies."

"Thanks, Lula." I groaned. "Maybe one or two. But lots." I shook my head. Everyone laughed.

"Babe, be careful there. You seem to get pregnant pretty easy, even while on birth control. It just may happen." Ranger whispered in my ear.

"Oh, is that so, Batman?" I asked.

"I can take care of it tonight." He growled.

Suddenly, it was just us in that limo. I was wrapped in his arms and his lips were seared to mine. We heard. 'Get a room.' and 'Oohs.'

"Shut up! I've been away from my woman for four weeks. I'm entitled. Especially, since we are now married." Ranger growled and he went back to kissing me.

We arrived at the hotel and we exited the limo. We walked into the reception hall and everyone clapped and cheered. We made our way to the head table. The tables looked wonderful with the candles and the chairs with the black ribbons tied like the back of my dress. The fountain looked fabulous with the floating candles and flower arrangements. I noticed men in tuxes at all the doors to the reception hall. They checked the invitations of all the guests. Most everyone was already there with their drinks and were seated at the tables.

We sat down. Tank to my left. Then Connie and Lester and Julie on the end. Lula was to Ranger's right. Then it went Bobby and Mary Lou with Ricky at the end. Mary Lou was tending to him. Father John was sitting at my parents' table. He stood up and said a prayer. Then the wait staff started to bring out the salads. Everyone started to eat as soon as the entire table was served.

The food was fabulous. Tank got up to give the first toast. "Carlos and Stephanie or more affectionately known to us as Ranger or Bossman and Bombshell. What can I say? It has been a crazy ride being part of your lives. So we all got together and came up with this tribute to the both of you. And when I say all of us, I mean your families, your friends and co-workers and even some of your skips Steph. We put together this slide show presentation. And it is all done with love.

Carlos, we've been friends since grade school. I can't think of anyone else that comes close to being a better friend than you. So this is for you."

The lights dimmed and a screen I didn't notice before, lit up with the slide show presentation. It started with Carlos as a baby. There were 'ooh's' and 'aww's' as pictures of baby Ranger flashed on the screen. Then there were pictures of him in school, dressed up for Halloween and Christmas. Pictures that I saw when I was at his parents' house when I took Ranger and Julie to the airport. The pictures stopped at high school.

Mary Lou got up. "Steph, we have been friends since we could walk. We went through school together. We got in trouble together. We double dated in high school. We stood up for each others weddings. You were always there for me. And I was always there for you. We were inseparable. And even today we are still there for each other."

The lights dimmed again and the slide show started. There were pictures of me as a baby, toddler. There were "ooh's and "aww's" at those pictures too. School pictures with Mary Lou. Pictures of us at Point Pleasant in swim suits. That got a lot of whistles from the guys. I just groaned. There were pictures of us in prom dresses with our dates. Pictures of us at football games. Pictures of us as cheerleaders. There were pictures of us at each others weddings. The lights came up again.

Bobby stood up. "Carlos, after high school you joined the Army along with Tank. We met at boot camp and we became fast friends. We were in the same unit and then we joined the Rangers. We witnessed some of the ugliest things that a person could witness. But we made it through. Our friendship continued once we made it out. And you remembered us when you started up RangeMan."

The lights dimmed again. There were pictures of Ranger and the guys in fatigues and in dress uniforms. Be still my hormones. There were pictures of them in jungles and deserts. There were early pictures of RangeMan. Small, bare bones offices to the multi offices in Boston, Atlanta, Miami and Trenton. There was pictures of the first office Ranger took me too that was just two rooms and a bathroom. There were his fleet of cars. And the current building. The lights came up again.

Connie stood up. "Then you ran into some rough times, Steph. You were out of work and needed money badly. You came to Vinnie's office and begged for a job. He gave it to you and I knew you were in over your head. But I knew you could do it, with a little help. So I fixed you up with Ranger. And he got you started and you managed to bring in the bad guys with some disasters along the way.

The lights dimmed. There were pictures of me covered with garbage. Cars on fire. There were a few pictures of me bringing in skips at the police station. Then there were mug shots of the various skips that I brought in; Joe, Mooner, Dougie, Eula, Randy Briggs, Melvin Pickle, just to name a few. There were pictures of the buildings that caught on fire; Stiva's, Cluck-in-a-Bucket, my old apartment building. More cars on fire.

Lester stood up. "When Ranger brought you along on that redecorating job when we first met you. We thought he was crazy. What the hell was this white girl from the Burg doing this job? What was he thinking? We suddenly knew what."

The lights dimmed again. Picture of Ranger and I flashed on the screen. There were picture of him hugging me after one of my cars blew up. Pictures of us at the police station with me covered in something gross. Pictures of us in the alley behind the bond office. Pictures of us in one of our vehicles or leaning up against a car. Some were just hugging or caressing pictures or of him tucking my hair behind my ear. Some were of us watching as a car or a building burn. There were pictures of us in the elevator at RangeMan or the gun range. There was a picture of us at the cemetery at Mama Mac's funeral with me wrapped in his jacket.

"Isn't she a pip?" Grandma Mazur shouted.

Julie stood up. "Dad, I know that you kept your distance from me for many reasons. But that didn't stop Scrog from kidnapping me. You came to my rescue and you asked Stephanie help. I knew there was something going on with you two. Why would someone that was just an acquaintance help rescue your daughter if there wasn't something more to the relationship? Steph risked her own life to save me and for that I am truly indebted. So thank you Steph, I love you. Dad, I love you too."

The screen lit up with pictures of Ranger holding a baby. He was so young. There were other pictures as Julie grew up. Must have been when Ranger would make semi-annual visits. There were pictures of us that were taken in New York and at Ricky's birthday.

Lula stood up. "We all suspected that there was something going on with you two. Girl you always slipped out of the bond office to 'talk' with Batman. There were the times he would drive you home in the Batmobile. We suspected that there had to be some lovin' goin' on. Eventually, you two finally admitted it. To each other and to the rest of us and moved in together. And then there was a batbaby. The result of your love for one another."

The lights dimmed again. There were pictures of Ranger and I kissing. A lot of kissing. Kissing in the alley. Kissing by the Porsche. Kissing in the vehicles. Kissing in the elevator, the gym, the gun range. Wow. And boy, did we kiss a lot. There was the tearful good-bye when he left on his final mission. There was pictures of me pregnant. Pictures of me with Ricky minutes after he was born. More pictures of Ricky. Some with me, some with the Merry Men, some with the girls. Then there were pictures from last Christmas with Ranger holding Ricky. The three of us. Then there was the baptism. Then Julie's visit. Ricky's 1st birthday. The slide show ended with a picture of Ranger and me taken just today as we held hands with our heads together in the alcove at the church. The stained-glass window behind us. It was a fabulous picture. I need to get copies of that pose.

"She got herself one hunk of man! And what a package he has! And he knows how to use it too." Grandma shouted again. Someone cut her off.

The lights came back up. Tank got up again. "So, that was kind of a this is your life. We just wanted you to know how much we all love the two of you. We all wish you well. It was a long journey that got both of you here today. Some of it was fun, some was sad, some of it hurt, but most of all it brought the love that you two share today. I am glad that I could be a part of this day and share your love. And the journey has just started. I am sure that all of us here will be part of the joys and sorrows as you continue your lives together. So let's raise our glasses. To Ranger and Bombshell. We all love you and we wish you many happy years together. And hopefully, without the disasters that occurred in the past. To Ranger and Bombshell!"

"To Ranger and Bombshell!" Everyone yelled.

Soon the tables were being cleared. Ranger and I cut the cake. He laughed at the cake top. He saw it the day I bought it but he didn't know I was serious about using it.

He let me feed him a piece of the Tres Leche cake. I ate my cake with the tiramisu filling.

When we were done with dessert. Ranger and I started to go around to say a few words to our guests. We thanked them for coming. I talked to Eddie and Shirley, Big Dog and Carl, Robin and Joe all sat at the same table.

The music started and Eddie asked to dance. I told him that the first dance was to be with my husband. Just then the DJ made an announcement.

"The Groom is looking for his Bride so they can have their first dance as husband and wife."

"Gotta go." I said. And I scurried to where Ranger was waiting for me on the dance floor. The DJ changed the music. I was in Ranger's arms. I recognized the song as a song from the 60's, but wasn't really paying much attention. Then I realized that this wasn't the song we had picked for our first dance. I was about to say something to Ranger, when the words of the song hit me. _'Babe, I got you, babe'._ I smiled up at him and then I placed my head on his shoulder as we continued to dance.

**_They say we're young and we don't know  
We won't find out until we grow  
Well I don't know if all that's true  
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you_**

**_Babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe_**

**_They say our love won't pay the rent  
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent  
I guess that's so, we don't have a pot  
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got_**

**_Babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe_**

**_I got flowers in the spring  
I got you to wear my ring  
And when I'm sad, you're a clown  
And if I get scared, you're always around_**

**_Don't let them say your hair's too long  
'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong  
Then put your little hand in mine  
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb_**

**_Babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe  
_**

When the song got to the end, Ranger and I were looking and singing to each other.

Ranger: **I got you to hold my hand  
**Me:**_ I got you to understand  
_**Ranger:**_ I got you to walk with me  
_**Me:**_ I got you to talk with me  
_**Ranger:**_ I got you to kiss goodnight  
_**Me:**_ I got you to hold me tight  
_**Ranger:**_ I got you, I won't let go  
_**Me:_** I got you to love me so  
**  
_Both of us:**_ I got you babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe  
I got you babe_**

When the song ended, everyone was clapping and cheering. We smiled at each other and then we smiled and waved at our family and friends.

**__________________**

**Ranger's POV**

After our first dance together, Steph and I went back to making the rounds talking to all of our guests. While Steph was dancing with Eddie, I went to find out from Shantel what happened with Ernesto the night before. As we danced together, she told me what he had said to my Babe about wanting to be here to see the look on her face when she realized I wasn't going to marry her. Knowing my Babe the thoughts had already been running through her head and this just added to her self doubts. Shantel explained to me that after their first meeting with Steph, Ernesto wanted her and my Babe blew him off. That made him angry, which is why he was so mean to her. Evidently he wasn't used to being blown off by women and that he had been cheating on Shantel for a while now. Shantel said that she wasn't going to take it anymore and was filing for divorce. She had been planning on it for a while now and was going to wait until after the wedding to announce it. She didn't want to spoil our wedding with that information. But Ernesto was being a jerk and so she informed him and everybody else what her intentions were. Ernesto was lucky that I wasn't there last night. After what he said to Steph he would be dead today. He better stay away from me for a while. I don't know how long I will be able to keep my cool if we would be face to face anytime soon.

**__________________**

**Steph's POV**

The night continued on. I danced with all the Merry Men, Joe, Eddie, Big Dog, Carl, My dad, Ranger's dad, all the brothers-in-laws. I had slipped on the slippers earlier when my feet started to hurt. I noticed that the girls all had their slippers on as well.

I found Ranger and we danced some more. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I just was enjoying being in his arms.

"Tired Babe?"

"Yeah, I am. What time is it?"

"11:30 p.m."

"Maybe we should get the bouquet toss and garter toss taken care of then we can think of leaving."

We called all the single women to the dance floor. Ranger took out a black scarf from his pocket to tie around my eyes. I didn't ask why he had it in his pocket. Maybe the DJ gave it to him ahead of time. The single woman started to walk around in a circle in time to the music. Even Shantel was in the circle. I guess she felt she was a single woman now that she was filing for divorce. I tossed the bouquet and Lula caught it. She was so excited she ran over to Tank.

Then we called all the single men to the dance floor. Tank got down on one knee with the other one bent so I could sit on it. He held me in place. Range got down on the floor and ran his hand up and down my leg. There was a lot of oohs and aahs from the guests who were watching.

As Ranger was working his way up my leg. Tank gave me a kiss. Ranger gave him a look. Ranger got a hold of the garter and was working it down my leg giving me a thrill. I couldn't wait until we got to our hotel room. Ranger pulled it off. Tank put the black scarf over Ranger's eyes. The single men including Tank, started to walk in circle. Ranger flung the garter and Lester caught it.

"Tank! You were suppose to get it!" Lula shouted.

"Sorry, Honey."

"Now I gotta dance with somebody else."

"Lula, it's not like you don't know Lester."

"Yeah, well he best keep his hands to hisself. I don't want to feel his hand wandering on my body." She said disgusted.

Lula and Lester danced to _"You Got A Friend In Me"_ from Toy Story. We wanted something quirky and fun. We didn't want something that would be considered a love song.

It was time for the last dance for Ranger and me. We chose _"Wonderful Tonight"_ by Eric Clapton.

Ricky was already asleep upstairs with Val and Lisa. Mary Alice and Angie were still dancing. Albert was keeping an eye on them and talking to some of the other guests. I didn't know what happened to Grandma Mazur. I just hope she was staying out of trouble. But knowing her, she probably found some stud muffin and was off in a closet somewhere with him. I shuddered at the thought.

Our parents where still there as well. I saw my parents dancing a few times. They looked happy. Maybe because my mom was happy that I was married now. Ranger's parents were chatting with Ron and Rachel. Their other two children were dancing with Mary Alice and Angie. Julie was having a good time with all her cousins. We said goodnight to her. We would be seeing everyone at brunch the next morning for the gift opening.

The limo was out front again. Ranger helped me into the limo. I didn't know what hotel Ranger had reserved for us tonight. Our overnight bags were already in the limo. I didn't know who packed them and how they got down here. I was afraid of what was or wasn't in the bags.

The limo pulled way and I was in Rangers arms. He was kissing me fiercely. "Dios, Babe. I can't wait to get to our hotel room. It's been a long five weeks. I can't wait to make love to my wife."

"Holy matrimony, Batman!" I cried out. "We're actually married!"

"Babe."

**_THE END_**

**_NOTE:_** Thank you all for reading. I hope that it met your expectations and you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it and bringing it to life for you. It has been an adventure and I am sad to see it come to an end. I will be taking some time off from writing. I will still be around, reading everyone else's wonderful stories. Take care everyone and please take the time to send me a review. Maybe I will be motivated to write again. It doesn't pay to write if no one reads the words. Be sure to take a look at my profile for a link to Snapfish for pictures from the wedding. With a little magic and Dress My Wedding at David's Bridal, I was able to create wedding pictures. Thanks again for reading my story.  
JayCee


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